Out in the Evergreen Rain - Lapidot Human High School AU
by Auremberite
Summary: Two students at Gemstone High, Lapis Lazuli and Peridot, find the friend they've always wanted in each other. Even though they're awkward, they know it's meant to be. But others, namely Jasper, have other plans. Can they sort out their feelings while their pasts hang over them, or will they be torn apart? Rated T for violence and romance, probably.
1. Under the Awning

**A/N: This is going to be another Lapidot human high school AU, I guess. After reading many fics under the same topic, I found that there were too many clichés. I saw stuff where Peridot loves technology, hates sports, and is generally rude or anti-social. Lapis would come from a generally poorer family with problems. They might even be bullied for the first chapter, if you're lucky. Not this time. This isn't your average Lapidot human au, mostly because I'm not sure what I'm doing and make it up as I go.**

Peridot:

"This is just great," I mutter under my breath as it starts to drizzle.

My name is Peridot. Don't worry about my last name, I don't care for it anymore. I refuse to acknowledge any relation with my parents at this point. My first name is unique enough, and it will have to do.

I'm a freshman. Where? Who knows? Every year, it's the same. Leave my old school, find a new one. I have no alliance to any place nor to anyone but myself.

It's the first week of September, the week before school begins. My parents kicked me out of the house, so I requested early transport to my new school. A bus should be by a stop near my house to pick me up tomorrow. However, I have no place else to stay, so I'm forced to wait and sleep at a bus stop until it picks me up.

My new school – it's called Gemstone Academy, and it's for grades six through twelve, I just checked the pamphlet – is a boarding school in some mountain region. I get a full scholarship there on my archery talent, though it's not my only skill. I love to play music and to write. The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the bow is stronger than them both. Someone should embroider that on a decorative pillow.

I finally make it to the bus stop just as the rain picks up. Luckily, it's covered by an awning, however small it may be. Everything I own is in the green hiking pack on my back. It's only some clothes, a laptop, my ukulele, and a few binders, but I still can't afford to let any of it get wet.

I slump on the sole bench and pull out my laptop. No charge. I pinch the bridge of my nose. How perfect. Now I have nothing to do until the bus arrives, and I can't even leave without risking getting everything I own soaked.

Just then, I hear heavy footsteps pounding on the sidewalk. I look up, and see a girl with royal blue hair sprinting towards the awning.

"What is she doing?" I mutter. I didn't expect anyone else to get here this early. I'd never made any friends at my old schools, and I didn't need to start now.

She finally makes it into the dry area, and rests her hands on her knees, panting. "That… was more running than I think I've ever done in my entire life," she says in between breaths.

"What were you doing out in the rain, then?" I ask.

She looks up, and I blush. She's gorgeous. She has dyed blue hair that comes down below her shoulders, light freckles that speckle her nose, and ice blue eyes that seem to pierce mine with such intensity, it's like they contain a storm of their own. She's wearing a grey tank top and blue athletic shorts with black skater shoes.

"I was out swimming. There's nothing else to do when you're stuck here," she replies.

"How long have you been here?" I question, surprised.

"I don't know. Maybe a week, I guess. I lost track of time," she says, checking her watch. "I didn't expect anyone to come at all, much less to arrive early. I'm usually the only one who goes to school early. Is it your first year?"

I blush and look away. Here was a beautiful girl talking to me almost like we were friends. I felt as if I talked, I would ruin it all and scare her off. "Yeah, but I'm a freshman. I've been transferred this year," I mumble.

She leans closer. "Sorry, what? You're speaking really softly, and I couldn't hear."

Her face was less than a foot away from mine. My heart seemed to beat out of its chest. "Uh, I'm a freshman."

She grins. "That's awesome! I'm a freshman, too! That means we'll be in the same class!"

She's so cute when she smiles. Normally, pretty people scare me off, but for some reason, she seems inviting. I want to talk to her, but the only thing I know we have in common is that we go to the same school. I think I remember reading about houses, like in Harry Potter, in the school pamphlet.

"Uh, what house are you in?" I ask.

"I'm in the Pink house. It's only for the 'troubled' kids, so I don't think you'll be in it. You'll probably be in Blue, Yellow, or White," she answers.

I raise an eyebrow. "You don't look that troubled. You seem pretty normal, actually."

She laughs. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that'll change soon. I'm in no way normal."

I rifle through my backpack until I find my class schedule. "Hey, it looks like I'm in Pink. I guess we'll be in each other's classes."

She grabs my schedule, her hand brushing against mine. I shiver. Her hand was warm and soft, and smelled like the ocean. "Why would you be in Pink? Have you ever done anything bad at your old school?" she asks.

My mind flashes back to experiences from my old schools. "I've been more at the receiving end of things, actually."

Her eyes flash with understanding. "Sorry about that, dude. But hey, maybe things can be different this time." she puts her arm around my shoulder reassuringly, and I tense up. "You have me as a friend, and while that in itself isn't much of a bonus, I can introduce you to some of my friends who actually have redeeming qualities."

"You have redeeming qualities," I stutter.

She smiles, and I think I can almost catch a blush on her face. "Aw, thanks."

Her eyes widen, and she takes her arm from around my shoulder, as if she hadn't realized how close we'd been.

"Er… What's your name, at any rate? I feel like a pretty girl like you has a pretty name too," I say. I freeze, realizing my mistake.

She definitely blushes this time, and so do I, and I think she's going to ignore me because the silence has grown so long, until she says, "My name is Lapis Lazuli, and I'm flattered that you think I'm pretty, but that's an easy mistake to make."

 _It's not a mistake,_ I think to myself, but instead I say, "Do you have any talents or hobbies?" Classic icebreaker. It makes me sound a bit dull, though I already am.

She shrugs. "I like to swim and surf. I've always loved the water."

I grin. "So I guess you like the weather right now, huh?"

"It's perfect," she replies. "I could stay in the rain all day if I didn't have to keep my stuff dry."

I raise an eyebrow. "Alright. You say you're a daredevil? I'll watch your backpack if you go stand out in the rain."

"That's not at all dangerous, but sure." She steps out from under the awning and is almost immediately soaked by the torrential downpour. "See? I love this," she calls, having to yell over the sound of the rainfall.

"I actually didn't think you'd do it," I say as she steps back in.

"Are you kidding? Water is my element. I'd do anything to be in the water," she replies, sitting back down on the bench.

We sit for a moment in silence. When I look over at her, I find that she's shivering. I reach into my backpack and pull out a green hoodie.

"You look really cold. Do you, uh, want to wear my jacket?" I ask, blushing.

She silently nods and slips the dry green hoodie on. "Thanks." She says quietly.

We sit in silence again, until she says, "I never asked for your name. What was it?"

I stare into the distance. "My name is Peridot."

I can tell that she notices my reluctance to say my last name, but she says nothing. "What do you like to do for fun? I'm guessing from the tone of your voice that you aren't the biggest fan of water," she remarks.

I shake my head. "Nah, I like archery, writing, and music. I actually got a full scholarship to this place on archery. I'm aiming for the Olympics, and I'm pretty close, too."

Her eyes widen. "That's awesome! So you're like Katniss Everdeen, right? Although with your outfit, it's more like Katniss Evergreen."

I look down at what I'm wearing. I have on a green hoodie, pastel green leggings, and dark green converse. "Okay, but you're not wrong," I reply.

She gives a small laugh. "That's cool, though. I'd like to get into the Olympics too, but for swimming. Maybe one day, we'll be there together."

I smile. "I'll look forward to it."

oO0Oo

After a few more hours of talking, we decided to try to sleep. Neither of us wanted to sleep on the ground, so we both had to stiffly sit upright on the bench.

"Peridot?" Lapis asks softly.

"Couldn't sleep?" I ask, opening one eye.

"No. I'm honestly pretty nervous," she replies.

"What for? You've been to this school before, right? You already know everyone there," I state.

She bites her lip. "That's part of the problem," she murmurs.

I raise my eyebrows. "What do you mean?" I question.

"Never mind. You'll see when you get there. Are you nervous?" she says slowly.

"No. I know you, which is one more friend than I usually have."

She straightens up. "Why? You're a really cool person to be around. Why wouldn't you have friends?"

"Long story."

"Fair enough," she replies.

After a pause, I ask, "Are we… friends?"

She laughs. "Of course, Evergreen."

"Thanks, Rain."

"Are those our new nicknames?" she asks, smiling.

"If the shoe fits," I start.

"I see your point," she says. "Do you still want to try to sleep, or do something else?"

"Nah, I don't think I'll be able to sleep, but I still want to try. See you in the morning," I say.

"Night," she replies.

I'm glad she can't see my face, because I'm beaming. I had a friend.


	2. Roommates

**A/N: That last chapter was… not as bad as expected! The secret to success is to set low standards.**

Peridot:

The rain stops at dawn, which is good, because that's when the bus comes.

"Lapis?" I whisper, gently shaking her shoulder.

"I'm awake, relax, I never slept," she murmurs as the bus slowly pulls to a stop. It's an old yellow school bus with the school's name printed in faded paint on the side.

We grab our backpacks and sit in the same seat on the bus. I take the outside, and she gets the window.

"How long of a drive is it?" I ask, yawning.

"About three hours," she replies.

I look her up and down. I notice the dark bags under her eyes, and I say, "It's okay if you want to sleep. I won't mind."

She leans back in the seat. "I can't sleep. It'll be fine," she replies, yawning.

I narrow my eyes. "Dude, you need rest. You said it yourself; you haven't slept in three, almost four days. It's okay to let your guard down."

She glares at me, and for a moment, I think she'll punch me. But then, her eyes soften, and she says, "Okay. You're right. Thanks." She closes her eyes and begins to let go.

When she's asleep, I can look at her without fear of being discovered. She's breathtaking, the way she looks. I blush. I couldn't allow myself to have feelings for her, even if she was pretty, funny, athletic – it wasn't going to happen. She wouldn't like a loser like me.

Just then, interrupting my thoughts, her head fell on my shoulder. I froze. "Lapis?" I whisper, startled. No reply. I realized that she was still asleep. I decided that it was better to let her rest than to save myself embarrassment, so I didn't wake her.

An hour later, I reached down to the ground to pick up my backpack, and she snaps awake.

"What?" she asks, jolting her head up. When she realizes what had happened, she blushes a furious shade of red. "I'm so sorry, Peridot, I didn't realize, I was asleep, I-"

"It's okay, dude. We're here, anyways," I reply, grabbing both of our backpacks from the adjacent seat. I hand the blue one to her. As she takes it, her hand brushes mine. I tense for a moment, but luckily she doesn't notice.

We walk off the bus, and I ask, "Where do we go now?"

She glances around nervously and says, "Let's head up to the Pink dorm room. I'll show you where it is."

You don't need to be an architect to appreciate the way the school has been built. The main lobby is made of smooth stones imbedded with sparkling shards of mica, and the floors are white marble. One wall is almost entirely glass, and looks out over the front walk. Two opposite walls are made of stained glass, and look into classrooms, though the color makes it opaque. A large set of stairs leads up to the second floor, where there a fountain rests on the landing. The building itself is absolutely ginormous, sprawling for hundreds of feet. Each dorm room is placed in some way that relates to its color. The Blue dorms face out over the lake in back. Yellow dorms face towards the sunrise, and pink to the sunset. White dorms are in the tallest part of the building, and they face the snowcapped mountains.

When I walk into the Pink dorms, I find something way more luxurious than I was expecting. The room has one large window that takes up an entire wall, looking out over the west. The skylights are tinted pink. The room is decorated in a comfy style. Pink blankets are everywhere, and beanbag chairs, bungee chairs, and plush couches litter the room. The lamps turn on and off when you touch their base, something I find extremely cool. There are games on the shelf, like cards against humanity and monopoly, and a docking station sits on a coffee table. On one side of the large window there is door that leads to the kitchen and bathrooms, and on the other, there is a hallway that branches off into many different dorms.

"Woah," I say in awe.

"Welcome to your new home, dude. This place is where you'll stay for the next four years," Lapis says, walking in.

"It's furbished so well… better than most homes," I state, turning the lamps on and off repeatedly.

"A lot of the kids here in the Pink dorm have ADHD or attention problems. Instead of forcing them to conform to a certain standard, the school decided to adapt the room to the students. Bungee chairs are really helpful for kids who can't sit still. Music helps some people study, so there are speakers. The school has the right idea on how to treat kids," Lapis replies.

"That's awesome. Which room do I stay in?" I ask.

"It should say on your schedule. We share the commons with all of Pink, but each dorm room holds two people. Since I've been here before, I already have a room. A lot of the rooms are already taken."

I take my schedule out of my pocket again. "It says I'm in room four."

She grins. "Hey, that's my room. Looks like we're sharing, dude. I guess we're roomates."

My face lights up. Not only do I get to live in a beautiful school, but I get a roommate that treats me like… like a friend.

She waves me over. "This year's going to be great now that I have such a cool roommate. Come on, I'll show you where our room is."

She walks into one of the dorms, and I follow her, blushing. She'd actually… valued me? Treated me like I was someone worth being with? When I walk in the room, I look around in awe.

"Everything is blue," I state. I wasn't wrong. The room was small, and only held two bureaus and a bunk bed. The upper bunk had collapsed, but the bottom bunk had blue covers and sheets. The walls had been painted pastel blue, and the carpet was blue, too.

"I, uh, really like blue," she mumbles, blushing.

I grin. "Is it because you like water?" I ask.

She rubs her shoulder. "…Yeah."

"Oh my stars, my roommate is a cute nerd," I mutter, putting my face in my hand.

Lapis turns to me. "'Oh my stars?' What does that even – Wait, did you call me cute?"

I blush furiously. "Um, I'll just start unpacking."

As I begin to unpack my backpack, I almost think I see her smiling from the corner of my eye.

oO0Oo

Once I finally unpack everything – which doesn't take long, since I have almost no belongings – I look at Lapis curiously. "So where do I sleep? The top bunk looks broken."

She gasps. "Oh, right, I forgot. I had to break that one because…" she hesitates, and I raise an eyebrow. "Never mind. I'll get someone to fix it once school starts. The only ones here right now are you, me, one or two other students with nowhere else to go, and a few teachers. There's no one around to mend it right now."

I shrug. "Whatever. I'll just sleep on the floor,"

She sighs. "No, you can take the bed. I'll take the floor."

I glare at her. "It's your room. You take the bed."

She rolls her eyes. "We can settle this later, there's plenty of time. Right now, I have a lot of energy, but none of the activity rooms are open, like the pool or archery range, so I'm going to go skating. Want to come along?"

I tense up. "I've never actually been on a skateboard before."

She grins. "Luckily, I have a spare. Let's head out to the quad."

oO0Oo

It's been five minutes now, and I still can't figure out how she does it. And by 'it,' I mean manage to not only stay on a moving skateboard, but do tricks as well. Is everyone as multi-talented as her?

"Come on, Peri! You can do it!" she calls, just as she grinds down a rail. Holy cosmos, she's amazing, not to mention intimidating.

"I most definitely cannot!" I call in reply.

She grins, and skates over next to me. "Dude, I know you can. You've just got to try."

"I am trying!" I complain.

"Dude, you're not even standing on your board," she argues.

I look down at my skateboard, which I'd been rolling back and forth with one foot. I sigh, and step on it tentatively.

I put my second foot on, and the board lurches. "Lapis!" I cry, shocked. The board begins to slip out from under my feet. My eyes widen.

Our eyes meet just as I'm about to hit the ground. Her hands dart out and grab mine. I close my eyes, wait one moment, two. I take a deep breath and open them. Lapis is holding me up with brute strength alone. My head is inches from the pavement. She pulls me up after a few seconds, and I end up surprisingly close. She notices, and takes a step back, blushing.

I rub the back of my neck. "Thanks."

She blushes. "Don't mention it, dude."

"I'll just watch. I think I'm pretty hopeless at anything on wheels," I declare, heading over to the nearest bench.

"Nah, I think I'm done for the day, too. Do you want to just go and make dinner back at the dorm?" she says, jogging to catch up.

"I can't cook," I reply, though I am hungry.

"Neither can I, but there's nowhere else to go. Hopefully you're okay with burnt ramen and expired cereal for the next week, because I literally cannot make a single meal without screwing it up," she says, grinning.

oO0Oo

After five minutes in the kitchen, I find out that she isn't wrong.

"How do you make three smoke detectors go off at once after only thirty seconds at the stove?" I exclaim, waving smoke away from my eyes.

"I have no clue! I'm just trying to make pasta!" she yells, taking a searing hot pot off the stove.

I quickly turn the stove off, and rush to disable the smoke detectors. When I get back, I look at the resulting meal. "Is… is pasta supposed to be crispy?" I ask after a moment. The noodles in the pot are blackened and stiff.

"…Yep. This is exactly how pasta is made, dude. I did it perfectly," she replies, her eyes watering from the smoke.

"Yeah, no. Want to just order a pizza?" I ask.

She nods silently, and I run to grab the phone while she cleans up the mess that had almost been our dinner. I guess I can cross 'chef' off her future job list.

oO0Oo

We sit in the beanbag chairs in the common room eating pizza, talking about everything and nothing all at once. Alternating things with meaning and casual banter.

"So, what's up with you and the color green?" she asks. "I mean, I can get liking blue and water – they match. But archery and green doesn't add up."

"Green is the color of the spring, which is when I was born, but also of healing and growth. I want my skills to grow, and to let my weaknesses become my strengths. I don't know, I just find it cool," I reply.

"That's actually… really well thought out? I'm impressed, you've done your research," Lapis replies.

I grin. "Well, I have to be smart on some occasions. Most of the time I'm just there as a background character."

"You're not a background character to me!" Lapis exclaims, blushing. "You're like, one of my best friends here, and I barely know you."

"Aw, dude, you're one of my best friends, too. I haven't really had many friends in my life at all, actually, but I still say you're above a decent amount of them."

"Thanks," Lapis replies, looking considerably happier.

oO0Oo

Almost after midnight, we walk into the dorm room, ready for sleep.

"Oh, I almost forgot, do you want your hoodie back? I still have it from yesterday," Lapis says.

I shrug. "Keep it. You look really pretty in it," I reply distractedly.

"You think I'm pretty?" Lapis asks.

…Add that to the list of things I wish I hadn't said out loud. If this kept up, she'd think I liked her, which I did; but I wasn't ready for her to know anytime soon.

"Do you want the hoodie or not?" I ask, looking at the ground.

"Yeah, I love hoodies so much. Besides, it's nice to wear one that's not blue or greyscale," she replies, hiding her hands in the sleeves.

I grinned. She was adorable. "Um, with that settled, maybe we should decide who gets the bed? Maybe?"

"You get the bed. You're newer, and I was the one who broke the top bunk in the first place," she says, throwing her pillow onto the ground.

I pick it back up and throw it at her chest. "It was your room first. You take the bed."

She sighs. "Let's just rock-paper-scissors, and whoever wins gets the floor."

I'm prepared to throw paper. It's my ultimate strategy. I stare into her eyes, and she stares back, celery green against ice blue, and she smirks. We both throw paper.

"Hey, looks like we both get the floor," she says, grinning.

I roll my eyes. "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"Nope. Make room, Evergreen. This musty old floor is seating two tonight," she cheerfully replies.

She gives me an old set of blankets and a pillow. We sleep only two feet apart, as the floor space is limited, to put it nicely. Really, they should've put more effort into the dorm rooms and less in the commons.

I turn the lights out. "Night, Lapis."

"Night, Peridot."

I look up at the dark ceiling. My mind flashes back to earlier that day when I'd fallen off my skateboard, and she'd caught me. Our faces had been so close, and the way she'd looked just as our hands met… I sigh and roll over on the floor away from Lapis. I refused to let myself like her in that way. We were roommates, friends. I'd never had one of those before, and I wasn't going to ruin this now.

I pull the blanket over my head and close my eyes, hoping for sleep but finding only the sound of crickets outside.

oO0Oo

Later that night, I wake up to the sound of her thrashing.

I use the glowing display from my digital watch to cast some light on her. She looks like she's in pain, and is mumbling in her sleep, her face set in concentration. I tap her lightly on the shoulder, and she sits bolt upright. Her eyes are wide at first, but once she realizes where she is, she visibly relaxes.

"Nightmare?" I ask.

"Yeah," she replies shyly. "It happens a lot. Sorry if I woke you up."

I shrug. "No problem. Was your nightmare about anything in particular?"

She flinches and says, "Nope. Just a generic scary dream."

I sigh. "Never bet on cards. You'll lose your last cent."

She flushes. "Okay, so I suck at lying. Does it matter? You'll probably learn why I have nightmares sooner or later. I just… don't want to say it out loud. It makes it more real."

My gaze softens. "That's fine, I don't want to pry. Do you need anything?" I ask.

"No, it's okay. I'll just try to sleep again," she replies.

"Alright. Goodnight," I say, laying back down.

After a half hour, I'm still awake, and I can tell Lapis is too.

"Can't sleep?" I ask.

She sighs. "No. you too?"

"Yeah. You want help falling asleep?" I ask, sitting up.

"Sure. How're you going to manage that, though?" she questions.

"With a song," I reply, grabbing my ukulele. I grin quietly, and I hear her snort with laughter.

"What?" I ask indignantly.

"I just think it's cute how excited you're getting. Go for it, Evergreen."

I softly strum the strings, and she falls silent. I begin to play a peaceful song, one of the first I learned. It's relatively simple, but it's soothing and melodic. Even though the song has lyrics, I don't sing. I have a good enough singing voice, but I'm too self-conscious. Lapis doesn't seem to mind. Once I finish, I hear her heavy breathing, and I know she's in a peaceful slumber. I smile and go back under the blankets. After two days, sleep finally finds its way to me, and I relent.


	3. Knocked my Breath Away

**I'm trying pretty hard here idk sorry if it doesn't meet your standards cause I know it doesn't meet mine.**

Peridot:

I stare at my reflection with little enthusiasm. My celery green eyes gaze back looking just as tired as ever. I wore a black tee shirt and green athletic shorts, my usual archery attire. I tried to comb my blonde hair as best I could, but it was as unruly as ever. Today would be the first official day of school, even though we wouldn't have classes until tomorrow. Today, I would just have to meet and socialize with the other members of the Pink dorm for the first time. If they were anything like Lapis, we would get along just fine. But I'd never met anyone quite like Lapis before.

I walked into the commons, and found Lapis chatting with two girls.

"Oh, hey, Peridot! Come on over and meet the some of the others in the Pink dorm," Lapis called.

I walked over, a fake smile plastered on my face. "Hey," I greeted, waving.

"Dude, you look like did not sleep at all," One of the girls said. She had long, lavender hair and dark indigo, almost purple eyes. She wore a white tank top and black sweatpants.

"Amethyst, please, at least try to be polite and make a good first impression," the other girl said. She had pale strawberry blonde hair and baby blue eyes. She was dressed almost like a dancer, with leggings and a loosely fitting athletic tank top.

Lapis gestured to the pair. "Peridot, this is Amethyst and Pearl. They're sophomores here."

"Well, nice meeting you, but I've got a lot of garbage to go unpack," Amethyst says, slowly walking to the dorm rooms. "And by unpack, I mean throw on Pearl's bed."

"Oh, no you don't! This year, you're finally going to learn how to be neat!" Pearl exclaims, swiftly walking after Amethyst.

I hear a muffled, "Nope," in reply.

I raise an eyebrow. "Are they… uh…" I start.

"Dating? It's complicated," Lapis replies.

"Oh. Cool, I guess. Are they the only other ones here?" I ask.

"No, there are four others. We're the smallest house by a long shot. Most houses have anywhere from thirty to fifty people," she replies, checking her watch nervously. She taps her foot on the ground, a habit I hadn't noticed until now.

"Are you okay?" I question.

"What? Yeah, sure. Why would you ask?" she says, fidgeting in her seat.

"You seem… on edge," I reply. "Are you afraid of anything? Or is it just because it's the first day of school?"

She takes in a deep breath. "No, I'm not afraid. It's just… Never mind. Let's just meet everyone else."

I shrug. "Alright, dude. Whatever you want."

oO0Oo

After a few introductions, I meet a cute couple called Ruby and Sapphire. Ruby is hot headed, and Sapphire is calm and collected, but they seem to get along really well. Then there's Steven, the only boy in Pink. He's kind of goofy, but he hints at a more serious nature. Then I greet his best friend, Connie, who is studious and brave. Finally, I meet Garnet. She's a half-sister to both Ruby and Sapphire, but on different sides of the family; Ruby's mom and Sapphire's dad. She's patient and funny, and gets along well with everyone.

After I've said hello to everyone, Lapis and I sit in the common room. "So, what do you think?" Lapis asks.

"They all seem like cool people. I think I'll like it here," I reply thoughtfully. "What do we do for the rest of the day? Classes don't start until tomorrow."

Lapis shrugs. "Same as last week. We can just relax."

"What about lunch? We're all out of leftovers," I note.

Before Lapis can respond, Pearl and Amethyst walk in. Being the first ones here, they're also the first to finish unpacking.

"Hey, dudes. We're going to go downstairs and grab some food from the cafeteria. You can come with if you want," Amethyst calls.

Lapis shrugs, though I notice the fearful look in her eyes. "Sure. It'll be good to see everyone, even though I don't know or like any of them other than you guys."

"You could probably make friends with some of them if you tried," Pearl remarks.

"Yeah," Amethyst comments. "You made friends with Peri here pretty quickly, though by looks of you two, I'd say you act like you want to be more than friends if you know what I-"

Lapis interrupts Amethyst by shoving her shoulder.

"I'm just saying," the purple haired girl continues, "I think you'd make a cute couple."

Lapis and I are both blushing furiously. I glance at the wall behind us, and Lapis rubs her shoulder.

"See? You're both blushing, so that means it's true," Amethyst continues in a sing song voice.

"No, we're both blushing because you're making us uncomfortable," Lapis counters.

"Well, now that we have that sorted out, let's go to lunch," Pearl says, cutting off Amethyst's retort.

As we walk out the door, Lapis and I are very careful not to look at each other.

oO0Oo

As we're walking down to the cafeteria, I hear someone call, "Hey, Lazuli! I've been hoping to run into you!"

Lapis freezes dead in her tracks, a look of fright plastered on her face. A tall, muscular girl with long bleached hair and a fake tan comes strutting over.

"Who is she?" I mutter.

"Jasper," Lapis whispers, mortified.

Jasper walks up to Lapis and says, "You didn't text me all summer. I was beginning to think you didn't like me."

"That's because I don't," Lapis replies.

"Aw, sure you do," Jasper states, grabbing Lapis' wrist. The blue haired girl flinches, but does nothing.

"What do you want, Jasper?" Lapis quietly questions.

"Let's go talk about this somewhere private," Jasper mutters, dragging Lapis along.

"Wait, Lapis! Are you okay with this?" I shout.

"It's fine. Just wait for me in the cafeteria," Lapis weakly responds.

I narrow my eyes and watch as they round the corner. Amethyst puts her hand on my shoulder. "Come on. If we get involved, it never ends well. Let's just do what she said, okay?" she asks softly.

I shake her hand off. "Screw that! If she's in danger, I want to help her!" I exclaim, running down the corridor.

Ignoring Pearl's and Amethyst's cries, I sprint away, only stopping when I'm within earshot of their conversation.

"You ignored me all summer!" I hear Jasper shout.

"Why would I want to stay in touch with you? Every time we meet, you try to hurt me!" Lapis exclaims.

"Listen here, Lazuli," Jasper says, and I hear a loud slam. Lapis cries out, and my blood boils. If Jasper hurt her in any way…

I peek around the corner to see Jasper holding Lapis by the wrist against the wall. My pulse quickened. How dare she?

"This year, you'll finally learn to love me. I don't care what you think. We're the perfect couple. It can be just you and me," Jasper starts, but Lapis bravely cuts her off.

"No! I'll never be with you. I hate you!" she yells.

Jasper's face contorts in rage, and Lapis realizes her mistake just as the orange haired girl slams her into the wall. She cries out on contact, her face contorting in pain.

I've seen enough. I can't watch any longer. I run out from behind the corner. "Leave her alone!" I yell.

They both turn to me. "Stay out of this!" Jasper exclaims.

"Per… go…" Lapis mumbles, clearly dazed.

I walk up to Jasper. I've never faced a bully head to head before, but for Lapis… Well, she's worth it, okay?

"Let her go," I growl.

"We were done anyway," Jasper sneers. "No use intimidating someone who can barely stay conscious. Take her."

With that, Jasper shoved Lapis towards me. Unable to keep my balance, I fell on the ground, Lapis landing on top of me. I hear Jasper's laughter ringing down the hallway as she walks away.

I gently roll Lapis onto the ground. She seems unable to speak, and I realize that she won't be able to walk. Blushing, I pick her up firefighter style and head back up to our dorm.

Her head rests against my shoulder, and I tense up. _It's what a friend would do. This is all platonic,_ I tell myself.

As I walk back past the cafeteria, I see Pearl and Amethyst. They both come rushing over, though they don't seem surprised.

"What happened?" Pearl exclaims.

"Jasper happened," I reply darkly.

Amethyst is grinning.

"Yes, Amethyst?" I ask, blushing.

"You totally like her, don't you? You're literally carrying her in your arms, Peri." she remarks.

I tense up. "We're roommates. Anyone would do the same."

Amethyst smirks, and I look down at Lapis. She's still beautiful, even like this. I bite my lip. "I'm taking her back to our dorm."

"Ooh, you two even share a dorm. Don't tell me you don't like her, cause I won't believe you," Amethyst calls.

I ignore her and brusquely walk back to our dorm.

oO0Oo

I finally reach the dorm, where I slowly sit Lapis down in bed.

"Alright, show me where you got hit," I say softly.

Her response is unintelligible, so I assume it's somewhere on the head. I go to the refrigerator in the kitchen and return with an ice pack. I gently brush her hair off her face and lay it on her forehead, taking note of the large bruise there. I blush as I do so. When I'm, done I sit down with my back against the bed and rest.

My mind is spinning. This is why she'd been so nervous earlier. She'd expected this. I was suddenly filled with rage. How could Jasper dare hurt someone as pure as Lapis?

I stood up angrily. I needed to shoot something. It was one of my coping techniques. I knew the school had a good archery range, one of the reasons why I'd applied, so I decided to head down.

But first, I left a note to Lapis explaining where I was. Even though her life was crazy, we were friends now. If she needed me, I would always be there.

oO0Oo

After getting permission from the archery instructor and setting up the range, I finally stood in front of a target, my bow raised. I narrowed my eyes and released the arrow. Bullseye. I smirked. The target was too close, at almost fifty yards, but I wanted to finish off the round first.

I hadn't even noticed the time pass, yet I'd been at it for two hours. I closed off the outside world whenever I shot. The only thing I kept notice of was me, the target, and the arrow. Nothing else mattered. I raised my bow for another shot. I let the arrow fly, but it only hit the inner circle, not the exact middle. I swore loudly.

"I don't see why you're so disappointed. That was actually pretty good," I hear someone call.

I whip around to see Lapis standing behind me. She wore her hair down now, hiding the mark on her face.

"You're okay!" I exclaim, dropping my bow and rushing over.

"Yeah, I just had a little nap. I read your note saying you were here, and I wanted to see you shoot. Not bad, dude," she says, shrugging.

"Thanks. I've loved archery ever since I was little. It's just calculating angles and force, but you can become better by being in good physical shape. It's fun to me," I reply.

"You do make it sound pretty appealing. Can I try?" she asks.

"Aren't you injured?" I question skeptically.

"I don't care if I have a concussion, I'm doing it anyways, and you can't stop me," she says, hints of her old personality showing.

"That sounds like a horrible idea. No way," I say, holding the bow above my head so she can't reach.

She glares at me. "Peridot, give me the bow, or I'll…"

"You'll what?" I tease. "Shoot me? With the bow you can't reach?"

"You know what? I think I will," she replies.

"I'm shaking in my skin," I say dryly. "Anything but that."

She rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "Could I please just have the bow?"

I sigh and hand her the bow. "Knock yourself out."

"I think I'll just have to knock your socks off with my talent instead," she replies, taking aim.

Although there are a million ways I could correct her form, as it's made clear within seconds that she's incompetent with a bow, I would rather let her have fun than be a rule-imposing figure.

She takes her first shot, and it just manages to hit the two point ring. Not bad, considering it's over one hundred yards away. Most beginners struggle to hit twenty five.

"Don't you dare laugh," she mutters, stringing a second arrow.

"I wouldn't dream of it," I say truthfully.

She knocks a second arrow and points it at the target. I bite my lip, and she glances over. "What am I doing wrong?"

"You're not doing anything wrong," I reply, lying through my teeth.

"It's okay to correct my form, you know. I won't mind if you show me how to do it," she says.

I rub my shoulder and walk closer. "Since the target is so far away, you'll want to aim above it, like this." I reach over her shoulder and gently push her hand up. "And with your other arm, you want it to lay flat," I say, pushing her elbow down. With my head next to hers and my arms guiding her hands, I suggest, "Go for it."

She lets the arrow fly, and it hits the nine point ring.

"I did it!" she exclaims, grinning.

I smile too, but then I look at how close we are. I hastily back off, blushing.

I notice her rubbing her shoulder, and I say, "So, do you want to go get something to eat? I can order another pizza."

Lapis nods. "Yeah, that would actually be great."

"What if we ate outside and made it a picnic?" I asked shyly.

"That would be amazing. I know the perfect place," Lapis says, retrieving her arrows. "Meet me by the tennis courts in a half hour."

oO0Oo

When it was finally time to be at the picnic, I hiked down to the tennis courts, just as Lapis had said. I brought my ukulele with me, as well as some blankets.

"What's up, Evergreen?" I hear Lapis calling as I get near the courts. She has a blanket set up under a large oak tree next to the fence of the paved area.

I sit down, and she pulls out a large cheese pizza, still warm. I notice a cooler with sodas, and a plate with slices of watermelon.

"Nothing much, Rain," I reply, using her nickname. "I brought extra blankets and my ukulele."

"While I brought all the food?" she asks, smiling.

I throw a blanket over her head. "Just shut up and eat your pizza," I reply good-naturedly.

As we eat, I absent mindedly strum my ukulele.

"So, can you sing anything?" Lapis asks.

"I can, but I don't want to. My voice is, uh…" I start.

"Come on, I won't judge," Lapis replies cheerfully.

"I mean… It's not just my voice. I don't actually know the words to any of these songs. I mostly listen to, uh… dubstep."

Lapis giggles, and I blush. "What?" I ask, embarrassed.

"You're such a nerd. In a good way, though, I promise. Here, I can sing," she responds.

"Do you know this song?" I ask, handing her a page of sheet music.

"No, sorry. I have sheet music from a song Steven wrote on my phone, though," she replies.

"Okay, sure. I'm a pretty good sight reader," I reply, taking her phone. I begin to play the song. It's an upbeat song; of course Steven wrote it.

She begins to sing. She sings in soprano, and her voice rings loud and clear. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard, and I almost forget to keep playing. But I do.

When it's over, I'm still staring at her. She turns away and blushes. "Um," she murmurs.

"That was the best thing I've ever heard," I reply, staring in awe.

She blushes even harder. "It wasn't that great. I was off key, and-"

I cut her off. "It was amazing! Don't sell yourself short!"

She gives me a small smile and lays down. By this time, the stars are out, and it's late enough to go to bed.

"Was this why you brought the blankets?" she asks.

I lay down, gazing up at the star speckled sky. "Yeah. I figured if we're going to be sleeping on the ground anyways, why not just do it outside?" I asked.

She shrugs. "Fair enough. Night, Peridot."

"Goodnight, Lapis."

As we fall asleep, I can't help but think how lucky am I to have her, even just as a friend.


	4. Glowing Water

**Maybe comment? Feedback really helps me write better.**

Lapis:

I slowly blink my eyes open. _I didn't have any nightmares last night,_ I think to myself. That's a first in a long time, especially considering I saw Jasper yesterday.

I slowly sit up, yawning as I do. Peridot is still fast asleep on the blanket. _She's kind of cute,_ I say in my head. I tense up. After Amethyst's taunts yesterday, I don't really want to think that way about her, or anyone for that matter.

The sun seems high in the sky, and I turn Peridot's wrist so that I can see her watch. It's almost eight. Classes start in fifteen minutes.

I gently shake Peridot awake. "Classes start in fifteen minutes, dude! Wake up!" I say.

She squints at me. "Wha?" she murmurs, half asleep.

"We've got to go or we'll be late," I explain.

She slowly blinks uncomprehendingly. I have literally no time for her exhaustion, so I grab her hand and pull her to her feet. I start jogging, still holding her hand, and she good-naturedly follows.

Once we reach the dorm, I grab my books and shove them into my bag. Peridot is awake by this time, and is slowly combing her hair. "Forget that," I say. "You have to put on your uniform, too."

"There's a uniform?" Peridot squawks.

"Well, sort of. You just have to wear something that's the same color as your house. We're in pink, so you've got to wear at least one thing that's pink," I explain, rummaging through my dresser.

"I don't own anything pink," Peridot says, shuffling her feet.

I look up. "Is everything you own green?" I ask.

"I have greys and blacks, too," she replies abashedly. "Don't forget that you're the same way with blue. It's like the sky threw up on you."

I tense up. She's got me there. "Oh yeah? Well at least I own something pink! I won't get dress coded on the first day!" I exclaim.

Peridot opens her mouth to reply, but is effectively cut off by the sound of the bell. My eyes widen. Class has already started, and we're still arguing in the dorm. "Well, looks like you're late on the first day, too," Peridot remarks.

I sigh. "Whatever. Take this," I say, throwing a pink bandana at Peridot.

She fumbles it, but manages to hang on. "Uh, thanks. But what are you going to wear?"

I look down at my outfit. Right now I have on a black tank top, light blue ripped skinny jeans, and converse. "My shoes are pink. But you'd better find a fashionable way to wear that before…" I trail off.

"Before class starts?" she asks in a knowing tone.

"Shut up. Just shut up, and let's get to class." I say, marching determinedly off to class.

She jogs to catch up. "What's your first period?" she asks.

"Since we're in the more… ah, troubled dorm, we'll have the first four periods together. Fifth period is free period for anyone without a special talent, but you and I will go to archery and swimming, respectively," I explain.

"Respectively? That's the biggest word I think I've ever heard you use," she jokes.

"Yeah? Well, I can be smart, too," I say, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

Just then, we arrive at our classroom, and Peridot is spared from answering.

oO0Oo

"Ah, glad to see you could finally join us, Ms. Lazuli. I suppose you consider it beneath you to arrive on time; better to join us later and make a scene. That's what you like doing, right? Making a scene?"

I tense up. I recognize that voice. It's our teacher, Ms. Pink Diamond. She's always hated me. These past three years under her have been great.

"Nice to see you too, Ms. Diamond. Tell me, did you get fatter over the summer, or is your outfit adding on the pounds instead?" I ask with an innocent smile.

"You must be losing your vision, perhaps Jasper gave you one black eye too many," Pink says with a smirk.

I clench my fists. Jasper's parents are close friends with Pink, yet she believes that I'm not good enough for Jasper, so she works as hard as she can to make my life a mess. I'm about to scream vile things at Pink Diamond, but I feel Peridot's hand on my shoulder, and my rage disappears.

"It's not worth it," she whispers.

I take a deep breath and let my anger leave. My fists slowly unclench, and I force a smile onto my face.

"Good thing to see your friend has an ounce of sense, Miss Lazuli. That's an ounce more than you have, I might add. What's her name?" Pink asks.

"Peridot," the blonde girl replies.

"Last name?" Pink asks, raising her eyebrows.

"I.. um… don't really use it," Peridot replies.

A beat of silence. Then, "If we were on a first name basis, it would imply that we were friends. We're not friends. I hate every last one of you bratty students. So, you see, I want your last name. Now," Pink demands.

Peridot pales. "I don't have a last name."

Pink narrows her eyes, but only says, "Fine. Take your seats. I might as well let you two sit together. Maybe now, Lazuli will actually have a friend," she taunts.

I grit my teeth and take my usual seat under the window. Peridot sits next to me. Amethyst and Pearl are in the row ahead of us.

Amethyst turns around. "Nice comeback, Lapis. You called her fat, and you didn't even get a detention! Priceless!" she says, laughing.

"Yes, but you should still be more careful," Pearl remarks quietly.

I lean back in my chair. "Since when have I ever been careful?" I ask arrogantly.

"Never. And that's the problem," Pearl says.

I grin. "You call it a problem, I call it a redeeming quality."

Pearl sighs and turns her attention back to the board. Amethyst grins and gives me one last fist bump before pretending to pay attention again. Peridot attempts to pay attention, but Pink Diamond's lessons tend to put people to sleep. I've long since given up on tuning in, so I just doodle on my paper.

"Nice drawing," Peridot whispers.

I jump. "How long have you been watching me draw?" I ask.

"About ten minutes now. Pink really can't hold her audience, huh," Peridot replies.

"Nah. Barely anyone cares anymore. I just count down the minutes until I can swim, and that's enough to keep me sane," I reply, still sketching.

I open my mouth to reply, but before I can, Pink Diamond goes, "Miss Lazuli, have you ever considered actually trying to listen to the lesson? Or are you so incompetent you can't even follow such a simple task?"

I flinch. "Maybe if you were a better teacher," I begin.

The bell cuts through my angry retort. I stalk off to lunch without looking back.

oO0Oo

Peridot catches up to me after a minute, saying, "Hey, I grabbed your stuff. You okay?"

I turn around and take my pack gratefully. "Thanks. I hate her. She knows just how to get on my nerves. I can't go back there."

Peridot considers this for a moment, and then says, "Then do you want to just skip?"

I raise an eyebrow. "You? Skip? Are you sure you're up for that, Miss Rule Follower?"

She blushes. "I'm rebellious! Look, I'm not even wearing my uniform," she exclaims, taking off her pink bandana.

"Oh man, you're right," I say sarcastically. "Let's go somewhere fun," I reply.

I grin. "That's why we're going to leave the school. I hope you know how to jump a fence, Evergreen."

"Where? If we leave our room, the school will know we've skipped," Peridot comments.

oO0Oo

We walk up to the chain link fence that encircles the school grounds. I immediately put my foot through a link, plant my hands on the top, and vault over the barrier, landing smoothly on the ground. Peridot, however, does no such thing.

"Hey, Lapis? I might need some assistance here," she calls.

"It's easy, dude. Just climb up it like a ladder, and then hop off," I respond.

She reluctantly puts her feet through the chinks in the gate, until the reaches the top. "Now what?" she asks.

Before I can answer, she slips off the top. A look of fear appears on her face, and I rush to steady her. But I'm too late, and she's already started to fall. I stretch my arms out, and catch her before she hits the ground.

She stares up into my eyes, my ice blue irises against her pale green. Her gaze is unwavering, and I being to blush. She looks away, and I slowly let her down. I'm internally screaming, but thankfully I keep my mouth shut.

"Where to now?" she murmurs quietly.

"Since we have our mod five to go to after this, let's stay close by. Do you want to just hang out in the woods?" I ask.

She nods, and we cross the road to reach the forest that lies beyond.

oO0Oo

"Do you come out here often?" she asks.

"Often enough that I have some sodas stored out in a secret spot," I reply.

We hike for about ten minutes until we come across a small, grassy alcove covered by the green canopy. Light dapples the floor of the enclosure, and the smell of earth and moss wafts through the air.

"Here's the place, dude. If you want some soda, there's some stored in the knot of that tree over there," I state, pointing at a great oak.

I sit down with my back against a maple, and close my eyes. As I do, I begin to hear the more discreet sounds of the forest. The gentle trickling of a nearby creek, the high pitched warbling of birds, the sound of a gentle breeze rustling the autumn leaves. I take a deep breath.

"So, what's there to do out here?" Peridot asks.

I squint my eyes open. "Enjoy nature, I guess. This is more of a relaxing spot than anything. What do you do when you're in the woods?"

"I mostly shoot. I can hand make bows, even if they're not very good. I'm not really in the mood, though," she replies.

"Then just come over here and relax, get some sleep," I suggest.

She slowly walks over and sits against the back of the tree next to me. As time passes, I notice more and more about her; the way her hands never stop moving, how her usual celery green eyes reflect the colors of the changing leaves, how she begins to calm down in the forest. I hear her humming quietly to herself, and I smile.

"What?" she asks, blushing.

"Huh?"

"You're smiling at me," she explains.

"Sorry," I say, embarrassed.

"No, no, it's fine; I just want to know what you're thinking," she reasons.

"Um," I start.

"Go on," she encourages.

I bite my lip. "You're… kind of cute… in a good way…" I trail off.

Her face turns red, and she says, "Oh, uh, thanks. You too."

We both pause. I break the silence, saying, "I'm going to try to sleep. Wake me up before swimming starts."

oO0Oo

When I slowly blink my eyes open, I notice that the sun is considerably lower in the sky than it had been when I'd fallen asleep. I quickly sit upright, but before I can stand up, I hear Peridot say, "Relax. We still have ten minutes."

I sigh. "Thanks."

"What for?"

"For watching the time… And for being here, I guess. Ever since you've arrived, except for the first day, I haven't had any nightmares," I explain.

"Do I really help that much?" she asks.

"Yeah. It's good to know someone always has my back," I remark.

"Same here, dude," she says, sighing. "Same here."

oO0Oo

The aquatic center, as the school likes to call it, is my favorite place to be, though I just call it the pool. It's a giant room, about fifty feet fall, with windows taking up the entire wall space on two opposing ends. They both look out over the forest, though one is pointing west and the other to the east. One of the other walls is dedicated to bleachers, and the last is a story high and dedicated to various awards won by the swim team. I have a couple team awards from the past three years here, and a few individual ones as well. I've even set the current record for freestyle. After a story, that wall cuts off, leading to a loft-type area with a smaller, recreational pool used to teach kids how to swim, and also for parties.

The main pool itself is Olympic sized and painted blue. I even have a footprint in a part of the cement from when it was first repaved. The second pool is much smaller, ranges from three to twelve feet in depth, and has a water slide and diving board.

The lighting in the center is horrible, so the color of the light depends on the scenery outside. When there's a sunset, the whole room glows purple, and in the spring, the light filters though the leaves outside, turning the space green. At night, the only light comes from the pool itself, and the room is a shimmering blue.

So you can see why, after class ends everyday, I still stay here even after everyone else is gone. I begin to lose track of time, the only indicator being the lighting outside. It must be late, since it's pitch black outside, and I'm still swimming, diving under the water like an otter and rising back up. I'll go to the bottom, let all my breath out, and lie on the floor, staring at the ripples on the water, and then surge back up to the surface. I love to swim more than anything else in the world.

After holding my breath for almost a minute, I push back up to the surface, when I see Peridot standing at the side of the pool. "Did you eat dinner?" she asks.

I shake my head. "I've been in the pool all day. What time is it?"

"It's after eleven. You should get to bed," Peridot says, handing me a towel.

I lay it on the side of the pool. "No thanks, I'm having a blast. Did you have dinner, or did you wait for me?"

"I just got out of the archery range a half hour ago, and then I went looking for you," Peridot answers.

"Looks like we both lose track of time," I remark, grinning.

"Whatever. We should get back soon. I'm exhausted," Peridot presses.

"Did you shower yet today?" I ask.

"No, I was planning to wait until tomorrow," she answers. "Why?"

"Why wait?" I ask, grabbing her shin.

"Oh no you don't!" Peridot exclaims, but it's too late. I pull her into the pool, and she gives a small squeal.

"Lapis! What was that for?" she exclaims.

"I just didn't think you'd been in the pool yet," I said, grinning.

"I'll get you for that," she growls good naturedly, and she begins to paddle after me. Sadly, she has no chance catching up to someone who's competed all her life in swimming events.

I make it to the other end of the pool before she's even halfway there. "How are you so fast?" she calls, her voice echoing in the cavernous room.

"Same way you can hit the bullseye of a target from three hundred feet away," I yell in reply.

I begin to swim back to her, and we meet halfway. When I reach her, she splashes me as much as she can. "I have to dry off my shoes now. Do you know how long that takes?" she asks, pumping her arms as quickly as she can to try to get me wet.

I grin. "Probably a long time," I note. I spin my arms in circles, creating large waves that hit her head on.

She uses her arms to shield her face. Smiling, she turns around and beings to kick the water in order to splash me.

"Legs? No fair," I complain, though I'm still grinning. I dive under water, coming up just by her face. I splash her as hard as the can, and she sputters.

"Hey! My mouth was open," she says. I can't take her too seriously though, because she's still laughing.

We continue to splash each other for the next ten, fifteen, twenty minutes. We only stop when we're both out of breath.

As we begin to get out of the pool, Peridot takes the ladder, but I'm too impatient to wait, so I plant my hands on the side of the pool and push up. Water cascades off me, and I use my legs to get my balance. When I look back at Peridot, I see her mouth open.

"You have a six pack?" she exclaims, looking at my stomach. "Since when?"

I look down. "Oh, hey, I guess I do. Uh, yeah, I have to stay in shape for tournaments, I suppose. I've never really noticed."

She blushes. "How do you not notice a six pack?" she demands.

"Whatever, dude. Let's just head back to the dorm. I'm crazy tired," I state, pulling my towel around my shoulders.

"I wonder why. Maybe it's because you've been swimming for the past eight hours," Peridot says sarcastically.

"Thanks for the explanation, dude. Let's just go sleep," I say, walking out the door.

oO0Oo

Too tired to put on a proper outfit, I just wear a cutoff athletic tank and shorts to bed. Peridot notices this, but doesn't say anything.

"Night, dude," I mutter, pulling my blanket over my shoulders.

"Goodnight, Lapis," Peridot murmurs.

She turns off the light, but sleep doesn't come. Not after one hour, or two. I don't notice when I drift off to sleep, but I'm very aware of when I wake, because it's from a nightmare.

I sit up, panting. Peridot has her hand on my shoulder. My eyes are wide with fear.

"Nightmare?" she asks softly.

I nod, and bury my head in her shoulder. She hugs me, and I don't hesitate to hug her back.

"You're okay," she whispers, and I nod, because I know I'm okay, now that she's here.


	5. A Toast for the Dorito

**Hope you're enjoying, because I really like this story much more than my last Lapidot High School.**

Peridot:

It's been one week since the last time Lapis had a nightmare, and since then, we've grown closer. I trust her whole-heartedly. Sadly, since I've been spending so much time with her, I haven't really made any other friends, which is unfortunate, seeing as Lapis has a swim meet this weekend, and I'll be all alone.

"You sure you'll be okay?" I ask as Lapis packs a few things in a blue duffel bag.

"Yeah, no worries," she replies.

Today she has on her black swimming championship jacket with a white tank top and blue athletic shorts. Ever since we went swimming, I can't help but notice how pretty she is.

"So you'll be back on Sunday?" I question.

"Yep. It'll be fine, dude. I promise," she says, giving me a quick hug. I tensed up for just a moment before relaxing.

"You'll remember to text?" I ask hopefully, as she walks out the door.

"Of course. Have fun, Peri," she calls just before the door closes.

I immediately pull out my laptop and open up skype. I send a quick message to Lapis.

" _How are you doing_?" I send.

Lapis walks back into the room. "Peridot, I literally just left. I'm doing fine."

I blush and twiddle my fingers. "I know, but I'll miss you."

She grins. "And I think that's sweet, but it's only a weekend. You still have the others in our dorm to hang out with. Now, I've got to go, or I'll miss my bus. See you, Evergreen," she says.

"Goodbye, Rain," I mumble.

oO0Oo

I'm assuming that if I message Lapis this quickly, she'll get annoyed, which is fair, but I have nothing else to do. I could go to the archery range, but I need a break. I shoot for three or more hours a day, and even though it's my favorite thing in the world, I need a break.

I bring my laptop into the common room and begin to write. And by that, I mean intermittently switching between Microsoft Word, Tumblr, Skype, and changing my YouTube music playlist.

" _Hey,_ " I message Lapis. It's been a good half hour by now.

" _What's up?"_ Lapis replies.

I smile. She's finally online. " _Just writing,_ " I send.

" _Send me the link,_ " she asks.

I quickly upload the file. " _What are you doing?_ " I question.

" _You know I'm on the bus, Peri."_ A pause. " _Actually, I'm trying to escape my teammate's bad taste in music by messaging you."_

" _At least you don't have to hear Pearl and Amethyst screaming three rooms down. I'm super tempted to tell them to shut the hell up, but I doubt they'd listen. They'd probably scream at me instead, and I am not ready for that level of emotional trauma."_

I imagined Lapis laughing. At least, I hoped I was funny enough that she'd laugh. Probably not. _"Omg so true. What are they arguing about this time?"_ she asks.

I listen for a moment, then respond, _"Dirty clothes, I think. Who knows? Not me. I literally don't know anything."_

I could picture her laugh clearly this time, and so I was only a little surprised when she said, " _Hey, I've got to go. My teammates are seeing me smile at my laptop and are asking questions, so I'm turning it off so they don't see my messages. Because trust me, they will try, and I am not letting them see the other things on my laptop."_

" _What else is on your laptop? I'm honestly kind of concerned right now."_

" _Um…" she answers._

" _Lapis, I really hope it's not hyper nfsw, because your blog is weird enough as it is without that."_

" _No, it's just ship art and fandom stuff," she grudgingly replies._

" _Oh my stars, you're just as big of a nerd as I am,"_ I say smugly.

" _At least I don't say 'oh my stars,' so you can't call me out there."_ Before I have time to feel hurt, she says, _"I'm kidding. It's actually kind of cute how you do that. But I seriously have to go."_

Now that she's gone, I continue to write. As I'm on the fifth chapter of my book (it's a sequel, I've been doing some heavy writing,) someone taps on my shoulder.

"Whatcha writing, dude?"

I jump. Amethyst was looking over my shoulder at my laptop.

I quickly close the top and give a nervous laugh. "Nothing. It's fine. What are you doing?" I ask.

"I've got nothing to do. Pearl kicked me out of our room while she cleans it again, so I'm pretty bored. But hey, maybe now we can do something together," she explains.

I raise an eyebrow. "Like what?" I ask.

"Well, now that your girlfriend is away," Amethyst starts.

"We're not dating!" I exclaim.

"And now that my uptight roommate is busy," she continues.

"If anything, you and Pearl should date." I counter.

"We should do something against the rules while we still can," Amethyst finishes.

"Are you calling Lapis uptight? Because we skipped school last week."

"Let's go steal some food from another dorm!" Amethyst exclaims.

I sigh. "Sure, why not?"

"I'll go get Garnet and Ruby. They're okay with breaking the rules, too," Amethyst calls, already running down the hallway.

oO0Oo

Once our team was assembled, Amethyst suggests, "We should hit White dorm. I don't think any of us knows anyone there."

I shrug. "I don't know anyone anywhere else, so I'm cool wherever. But if that's what you want, sure."

"Let's get going, then," Garnet says. "That food won't steal itself."

Once we're just outside of the White dorms, Ruby asks, "How much food should we take?"

Amethyst punches her palm. "As much as you can carry."

I grin, and burst into the dorm. A few confused looking students are studying on the couches, but they ignored me. At least, until Ruby came in shouting, "Give us your food, losers!"

"No way," One student says. "Get lost."

Ruby barges past him and makes her way to the fridge. Amethyst and Garnet come rushing in.

"This is an ambush!" Amethyst yells, sprinting for the fridge.

I rush to the counter and grab everything I can. Bread? Yes. Fruit? Sure. Toaster? Definitely.

"What the – is that our toaster?" a girl exclaims. "I need that to make to make mini waffles! Oh, you're so dead, dudes. No one takes our food and gets away with it."

The girl seems angry, and I can't blame her. I'd be mad too if someone took my only way to make mini waffles.

"I'll hold her back," Garnet calls as the rest of us continue to pillage the stores.

Before we leave, I also grab some plates, the salt and pepper, and some mini bagels.

"Run!" Amethyst calls, and we all sprint out of the room. I hear loud footsteps behind us, and I know people are following.

"This way!" Garnet calls, leading us down a different hallway.

"This isn't the shortest way to our dorm!" I exclaim.

"We can't let them know it was us! This way, we'll pass Blue dorm, and we'll lose them there!" Garnet calls in reply.

oO0Oo

Once we're back in the dorm, we all drop our stuff on the ground and sit around it in a circle.

"Dudes," Amethyst says, laughing, "Who took the toaster?"

"That was me. Did you see the look on that girl's face when I did?" I asked, now beginning to laugh.

"It was priceless," Amethyst cries, cackling with laughter.

"I tripped her while we were running away," Ruby says, now joining in.

"I think we have enough food to make a picnic out of this," Amethyst says, wiping a tear from her eye.

"I brought the plates," I say, holding up the porcelain.

"I took some sodas," Ruby admits.

"I got the good stuff. I got three bags of Doritos, and this!" Amethyst exclaims, holding up a jar of Nutella.

Needless to say, dinner was a huge success, and not just because of the Nutella. The toaster I stole now rested in our kitchen, labeled, "Taken from White dorm." I even ate so many Doritos that I earned a new nickname, Peridorito, though I like Evergreen better.

Ruby chugged so much soda, she ran off to the bathroom and never came back, but I think she just went with Sapphire. Garnet, Amethyst, and I played cards in the common room, and eventually Pearl, Steven, and Connie joined in. It was one of the best nights of my life.

oO0Oo

Just before bed, I turned my laptop back on and checked my skype. I had two new messages from Lapis.

The first one read, " _Remember that chapter I had you send me earlier? I got so bored on the bus ride that I drew out some concept art for your book. Hope you like it."_

The second was her picture. It was absolutely stunning. The forms were stylized, yet accurate, the shading was perfect, and the background was gorgeous. My jaw dropped.

" _This is amazing. I'm so using it as the cover art. Where'd you learn to draw like that?"_ I sent.

Luckily, Lapis came online pretty quickly. _"I'm glad you like it! It took me about five hours."_

" _You're an amazing artist. Are you at the hotel now?"_ I asked.

" _Yeah, I just got there. Hold on a second, I've got to charge my laptop."_ There was a short break, and then, " _Hey, is my charger in the room?"_

I glanced at her dresser. A white cord was lying on the top. " _Yeah. Does that mean you don't have one?"_ I sent.

" _Yep. My laptop's on nine percent, so I have a feeling it'll shut off soon. I'd better say goodnight now."_

" _Goodnight and good luck, Rain,"_ I sent. I even added some emojis for good measure. But just as I hit send, I noticed that I sent the heart emoji instead of the sleepy face one.

My face started burning up. Oh my stars, what was I thinking? A heart? Now she was going to think I liked her like that, which I did, but that was beside the point. She would probably think I was weird, and just as I was about to die of shame, I heard the familiar ping that meant she sent another message. I was almost too scared to look, but I was glad I did, because she sent,

" _Same goes for you, Evergreen. Night,"_ followed by the heart emoji and winky face.

I let out a deep breath, but I was internally screaming. Did she like me back, or was she just playing? I shut down my laptop and closed the lid. Things were going to be very interesting when Lapis came home.


	6. Drunken Promises

**What do you think so far? That last chapter was a rush job but I honestly didn't think it was relevant to the plot so I summarized.**

Lapis:

The only thing I remember about the bus ride is that I was too excited to sit still. I was always tapping my hands and feet, changing how I was sitting, or tapping my laptop keyboard even though it was dead.

After the bus stop, I, along with several others, ran straight inside the school. However, while they needed badly to use the restroom, I wanted to see Peridot.

I sprinted up to the dorm, opened the door, and found her typing on her laptop. When she saw me, she blinked, stood up, and pulled me into a hug.

"You're back!" she exclaims.

I grin. "Looks like you missed me. How was everything here while I was gone?" I asked.

"I stole a toaster," Peridot cheerfully replies.

I laugh. "That's amazing."

We pull away awkwardly.

"So, how'd you do?" Peridot asks.

"I got two gold medals and one silver," I reply, shrugging like it was no big deal. It was definitely a big deal.

"That's awesome!" she replies, grinning.

"Thanks," I reply, rubbing the back of my neck.

A silence falls. Neither of us knows what to say.

"Uh… Shouldn't you be in bed? It's like three in the morning, and we have class tomorrow," I state.

She shrugs. "I was waiting for you to get back."

I lightly shove her shoulder. "Peridot! You should've just slept! You need rest!" I exclaim.

She shrugs. "I'll sleep now if it'll make you feel better."

"It'll make you feel better." I correct.

We both lay down on the floor and turn off the lights. Even though it's late, sleep doesn't come.

"Peridot? You awake?" I whisper.

"You too?" she murmurs in response.

"Too busy thinking," I admit.

"Thinking about what?" she asks.

"Life, I guess. It's nothing," I cover up.

"Did you have nightmares while you were gone?" she asks.

"Yeah," I concede.

She reaches over and takes my hand in hers. My face turns bright red.

"I'm here for you, okay?" she reassures me.

I pull the blankets higher with my free hand. "Thanks, Evergreen. Goodnight."

"Night," she says.

We fall asleep still holding hands.

oO0Oo

By Thursday, everything was still the same. But in class that day, while I was doodling, Amethyst passed me a note. It read, "Party off campus tomorrow night. You and Peri should come."

I passed the note to Peridot, who nodded and shrugged. I grinned. I'd been to these parties before, and they were awesome. Friday night was going to be one to remember.

oO0Oo

Just an hour before the party, Peridot and I were getting ready in our room.

"Have you ever been to a party before?" I asked.

"No, this is my first. Is there alcohol and stuff?" she replies.

"Sometimes. It really depends. We'll find out when we get there," I explain.

"Cool. What should I wear?" Peridot questions.

"I don't know. I'm just wearing this tank top and frayed jean shorts. As long as it's not athletic gear, you should be fine," I answer.

"How's this?" she asks.

I glance over my shoulder to see her wearing a thin lace tank top and black leggings. I begin to blush.

"I'll take that as a 'looks great,'" Peridot says, smirking.

I ignore her and say, "Let's just head out."

oO0Oo

After a half hour long walk, the two of us finally arrive at the ruins of an old building, now reduced to rubble. Someone has lightly furnished it with tables for refreshments and chairs for sitting and chatting, but most of the space is taken up by an electronic dance mat.

As we're twenty minutes late, the place is already crowded with people dancing, flirting, and drinking. As we walk inside, I hear Amethyst call to us from the top of a staircase.

"Hey, guys! You finally made it!" she calls.

Peridot and I slowly walk up to the purple-haired girl. "Hey, did you know someone brought drinks to this party?" she asks.

I smirk. "How much are you planning on having?"

"None, actually. I want to remember the first time Peridot here gets drunk. I bet it'll be hilarious."

"I'm not drinking tonight," Peridot claims.

Amethyst groans. "Awww, what? Well, Lapis, you should have something to drink. Could you get me a soda?"

"Fine, but I'll have soda too. I want to remember tonight," I say, walking off to the snack bar.

oO0Oo

When I finally get to the snack bar after minutes of weaving through the crowd, I pour myself and Amethyst some Dr. Pepper, and look back at where the two are standing. Peridot is saying something, to which Amethyst laughs loudly. She then puts her arm on Peridot's shoulder, and begins to twirl a strand of her hair. I know what this is. It's flirting

oO0Oo

As I watch Amethyst talk with Peridot, my stomach begins to churn. Sure, Peridot and I had never said anything about dating, but Amethyst should know to back off. And Peridot… Did she know Amethyst was flirting, or did she not like me in that way?

Heat rushes to my face, and I walk over to the cooler. I grab a beer and start chugging. Soon one beer becomes three, and then five, and then I lose track because my thoughts are swirling around in my head like goldfish, and I'm too slow to catch them.

Should I confront Peridot? My brain says no, but the alcohol in me says otherwise.

I slowly drift over to where Amethyst and Peridot are laughing together. "Hey, nerds," I slur. "Whatcha talking about?" I ask, leaning heavily on Peridot's shoulder.

"Lapis, how much did you drink?" Peridot questions quietly, pushing me into a standing position.

"Eleventeen," I reply, giggling.

"Can you handle yourself, or do you need me to get you home?" Peridot asks. As she says this, I notice Amethyst glare at me.

I grin. "I can handle myself, Evergreen. As you can see, I'm the life of the party."

Peridot raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" she asks.

I mutter an indistinct 'yes,' and stumble my way through the crowded warehouse to nowhere in particular. The strobe lights all blur together, and the music becomes a faint buzzing. I find an old couch, and lay down just before the room becomes black and I sink into nothing.

oO0Oo

Peridot:

I watch Lapis slowly walk off, but before I can chase after her and stop her, Amethyst grabs my arm. "C'mon, just stay a little longer, Peri. I'm having a really great time."

I shake my head. "I've got to go find Lapis. I think she's drunk enough to get herself in trouble."

"Who needs her, dude? You've got me now," Amethyst whines.

I snatch my arm away. "Lapis is drunk! I have to go help her. What's your deal? You'd do the same for Pearl."

"Look… Pearl couldn't make it tonight. Rose – that's Pearl's old roommate – came back in town, and Pearl's flirting with her again. I need someone right now," Amethyst explains.

I wrinkle my nose in disgust. "You're just using me to make Pearl jealous!" I exclaim, stomping off into the crowd.

I hear Amethyst's protests behind me, but she can't navigate through the crowd as well as I can. I finally find Lapis semi-conscious on an old, green couch, and I say, "C'mon Lapis, let's go home."

"I don't wanna," she mutters.

"Then what do you want to do?" I ask gently.

"I wanna tell you I love you, but I think it's too soon. Maybe tomorrow morning," she giggles.

I freeze. Was this the alcohol talking, or something more? "Let's see how you feel about that tomorrow," I reason.

"I feel great," she murmurs.

I sigh, and pick her up in my arms like a firefighter. "Let's get you home," I say softly.

She buries her head in my shoulder and wraps her arms around my neck.

"I love you, Peridot," she whispers. I can smell the alcohol on her breath, a rancid odor that makes me cringe.

But that doesn't stop me from answering, "I love you too, Lapis." Because I do.

She giggles, and seems content to rest in my arms as I carry her home.

oO0Oo

When we finally get back to the dorm, I gently lay Lapis in bed and pull the covers over her.

I begin rummaging in my dresser in order to find pajamas. All of a sudden, I hear a noise, a rasping voice.

"Peridot? Lean closer. I have something to tell you," Lapis whispers.

I warily lean close to her face. All of a sudden, she kisses my cheek. My eyes widen in shock, and I quickly pull away as she quietly giggles.

I turn off the lights so Lapis can sleep, but rather than lying on the ground to sleep, I instead walk to the bathroom.

I turn on one of the taps, and cold water rushes into the spotless white porcelain sink. I cup my hands, letting them overflow with water. I stare into my reflection in the puddle in my palms. I have deep lines under my eyes, and my face has a frightened look about it. I look scared, shocked, confused. It's not me.

I splash my face with the water and rub my hands through my hair. I put my hands on the edge of the counter and close my eyes. Was this night even real? I faced two girls; one who used me, and the other…

I let out a deep sigh and curl up under the countertops. There was no way I could go back to my room with Lapis, not tonight. I would just stay here.

In the bathroom.

Alone.

I fall asleep not to the familiar sound of Lapis' heavy breathing, but instead to the hum of florescent lights and my own heartbeat.


	7. Mistakes are Like Ghosts - Haunting

**Sorry if this chapter is a bit rushed, I'll be leaving for vacation soon and won't be able to update for a while. May replace to this chapter once I get back.**

Peridot:

I wake up early in the morning to the sounds of quick footsteps, followed by a horrid retching noise. Looks like someone had a hangover. And based off her state last night, I'd like to bet it was Lapis. I curled up in a tighter ball under the sink, hoping she wouldn't notice me.

After the person stopped throwing up, I heard her call, "Peridot? Why the actual-" The person was cut off again as they attempted to cuss while simultaneously throwing up whatever was left in their stomach into the toilet. "-are you under the sink?" There was no doubt that it was Lapis now.

"I'm… uh… Bonding with the plumbing?" I say, standing up.

"Seriously? Are you hungover too? I don't remember you drinking last night." A pause. "I don't remember much at all. What happened?" she asks.

I use the sink in an attempt to avoid her eyes. She would know if I lied to her face. "Oh, nothing much."

"I know I got drunk. That much is pretty obvious. And based on how much vomit is now in the third toilet stall – which is a lot, by the way, - I'm guessing I was too intoxicated to get home on my own. Tell me what happened." she demands.

"Uh…" I start. How could I tell her? Did she really not remember?

I hear her footsteps grow closer, and I flinch.

"You're acting really awkward…" Lapis murmurs, trailing off at the end.

I turn to my left, and she's less than a foot away. I jump back.

"Peridot," she says, looking into my eyes. "What did I _do_ last night?"

oO0Oo

Lapis:

"Peridot? What did I _do_ last night?" I asked. I was terrified to know the answer.

"Well, uh, you see," she starts. "You went to the party, had a great time, too much to drink, and then you went home and everything is normal. Yes."

"Peridot, what the actual hell went down last night? You wouldn't be acting this way if just that happened. There had to be more," I demand.

"I really don't want to say," she murmurs.

"Please," I plead.

She scrunches up her face, then yells, "You don't want to know!"

I stare coldly at her, and she gulps. "I'll remember it eventually, Peridot. It's only a matter of time. Better that I hear it from you than to hear it from others."

"The others don't know what really happened…" Peridot mutters scornfully.

"Then tell me!" I exclaim, losing my cool.

She silently shakes her head and walks out of the room, leaving me shameful and enraged at the same time.

"You can't just leave!" I shout. No reply is given.

oO0Oo

In the past, skateboarding has always cleared my head, and today is no exception. I head to my favorite spot, by the abandoned tennis courts, and begin to skate the stairs.

I jump onto the rail, grind down, and land smoothly on the pavement below.

 _What could've happened that would cause Peridot to yell at me?_ I wonder.

The only time I've ever seen her mad was when Jasper hurt me on the first day of school. But then, Jasper had clearly been in the wrong.

 _Had I done something wrong?_

I realize this just as my board lands on the handrail for the next staircase.

I remember only bits and pieces. Trying to get Amethyst to stop flirting with Peridot. Passing out. A drunken whisper, a promise really, to Peridot, declaring my love for her. Burying my head in her shoulders as she carried me two miles home. Kissing her on her cheek, the shocked look on her face, her running away.

I blink back to reality too late. I'm falling, and there's no one around to catch me. My skateboard slips out from under my feet, and I fall backwards. My spine hits the rail with a crack, and I bounce off onto the ground face first. My hands and head get the worst of it, but that pain is nothing compared to what I feel on the inside.

 _I kissed Peridot!_ I internally scream.

No wonder she was acting so awkward. I lay on the ground for a few minutes, thinking things over. After that, I slowly sit up, assessing the damage. My hands and knees are bruised and scraped, I had a bruise on my forehead, just above my left eye; and my nose has a scratch going across the bridge.

 _I hope that one doesn't scar,_ I think. _I already have one mark, and I don't need another._

On my back, I have a long, thick scar running from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. I got it long ago, in the end of seventh grade. I didn't want another scar from something as silly as a three foot fall.

I slowly stood up, using the same rail I'd fallen off of to regain my balance. I began to limp back to the dorm room. Peridot and I had some things to discuss.

But there was one other thing I remembered, too. Peridot had said that she loved me.

oO0Oo

After a ten minute walk that only should've taken two, I finally open up the door to the commons. Peridot is sitting in a beanbag chair, typing on her laptop. When she hears the door open, she turns away.

"I remember last night," I declare.

She turns around slowly, but when she sees me, her eyes widen in shock. "What happened to you?" she gasps.

"I fell. Not important. But I-" I start.

"Of course it's important! You're bleeding! Here, I have some bandages in our room, follow me," she says, standing up at once and rushing to our room.

I stand still, puzzled. How could she still care about me after last night?

I slowly walk into our room, where she has a first-aid kit laid out on the bed. "Sit down," she commands, rummaging through the kit.

I do as I'm told, more out of confusion than obedience. She takes my left wrist in her hand, and begins to wrap an ace bandage around it. I flinch and wince, but she takes no notice, and begins to treat the other marks. But when she gets to the scratch on my nose, she looks into my eyes, searching for something. Remorse, maybe? My anger from earlier has evaporated.

"Why are you doing this?" I mumble.

"Because you're hurt," she explains.

"You don't have to. No one would blame you, not after last night," I mutter.

She falls silent for a moment, then says, "You were drunk, it wasn't completely your fault."

"I chose to get drunk. And then I… I played with your feelings. I didn't ask. I'm sorry," I apologize, looking down.

"It's alright. You weren't the only one who played with my feelings. Amethyst used me to make Pearl jealous," Peridot growls.

I sigh in relief. Peridot didn't like Amethyst, and Amethyst had only been pretending to like her. I pause. "Did you mean what you said?" I asked quietly.

She blushes, and raises an eyebrow. "Did you?"

I blush. "I asked you first."

"You said it first," she argues.

I sigh. "Yeah, I meant it. I… I do love you. I'm just not sure if it's platonic or not."

She grows silent. And then, "Can we just let everything to back to normal?" she asks.

"Woah, wait. Did you mean it when you said you loved me?" I question.

She turns away. "You should sleep. You need rest."

"Peridot," I plead.

"What do you want from me?" she says, raising her voice. "I don't know how I feel, okay?"

"It's okay to be confused," I murmur.

"I need some time to think," she says softly. "Just… give me some space to think."

"Okay, Peridot," I whisper, lowering my head.. "I'll leave you alone from now on."


	8. Worth it

**Okay I have no clue what I'm writing, but at least I haven't screwed up yet, right? Right? (Who am I kidding? Not me, not you readers, literally no one.)**

Peridot:

When I wake up, I'm in ecstasy for a moment – but only just. Then memories of the past two days kick in and feelings flood my head. I sit up as quickly as I can, whipping my head around for signs of my roommate. The floor next to me is empty and cold to the touch.

I scan the room, desperately searching for signs of my friend – a note, a letter – yet I find none. A missing skateboard would mean she's at the tennis courts, but it's resting alone in its corner. If her art supplies were gone, I would search for a pretty view, and hope to find her there. But instead I find nothing.

I'd been too harsh. All she'd done was tell me how she honestly felt, and I'd coldly told her to stay away from me. And she'd agreed to go, not because she didn't want to be near me, but because she wanted to fix things. And the worst part was, I did feel that way about her. I slam my head against the wall, yelling,

"Why am I such an idiot?"

I clench my fists and close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. Yelling wouldn't bring her back.

I run out of the room, still in my pajamas - just an oversized tee shirt and sweat pants – and scramble from room to room, looking for a glimpse of blue hair, the scent of an ocean breeze.

All of a sudden, as I'm searching every single cabinet in the kitchen (I'm that desperate,) the thought hits me. She would be at the only place she'd ever really felt at home – the pool.

oO0Oo

I sprint down towards the pool, almost missing the doorway – and when I run back to get inside, my face smacks into the door. I stumble back, blindly reach for the handle, and slam it open.

There's only one girl in there, and it's her. But when she sees me, instead of smiling as she so normally does, she dives underwater and heads for the middle of the pool where she knows I can't reach her.

"Lapis!" I cry, "Wait!"

"I thought you didn't want anything to do with me!" she called, turning her back to me.

"That was a mistake!" I desperately reply, trying to circle the pool.

She stays silent.

"Look, I was really confused last night, and I thought I needed space. But I don't anymore, I realize I was wrong to push you away, to hide my feelings – I feel horrible," I exclaim.

She doesn't reply.

"Say something!" I yell.

She begins to float on her back, a clear sign that she doesn't care anymore. That she's over it, even. But I'm not.

I begin to take off my shoes. "If you keep ignoring me, I'm coming in there!"

She snorts. "Have fun with that."

Rage flares inside me, but I push it back down. "Lazuli, I am going in this pool, and nothing you can stay will stop me. We're going to talk, and everything will be fine," I say in a forcibly calmed tone.

"Like you can catch up to me," she mutters, but she doesn't move.

In a way, that's her way of trying to fix things. If she wanted, she could always out race me, or scream in my face, or even physically hurt me, but she doesn't. She's acting like she hates the idea of talking, but she isn't trying to stop me.

I swim over to her, and she stands up just before I reach her. "What do you want, Peridot?" she asks scornfully.

"To apologize. I'm sorry that I told you to leave. That's not what I want. And… I know it hurt you. I can't take it back, but I can try to make things right," I say openly.

She keeps her back to me.

"Well?" I demand.

She shrugs.

"You're not making it easy to be the bigger person," I growl.

I see her fists clench, but I keep my cool. "What? Are you going to hit me?" I angrily demand.

"Yes! No! I don't know! I hope not. I don't-" she yells.

"Do it! Hit me! If you can't even look at my face, and you think this'll help, then go for it! But you won't, because you're a good person, and I know that!" I exclaim.

I notice her shaking, and I think she's going to actually do it. But after a moment, I realize that she's silently crying.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that," I comfort, but she doesn't hear me.

I put my hand on her shoulder, and she just breaks down farther, putting her head in her hands.

I pull her into a hug from behind, and she doesn't resist or even flinch.

"Why do you even care about me?" she murmurs.

"Because we're friends," I reply softly.

"You think I'm good, but I'm not," she insists.

"Good or bad, does it really matter?" I ask.

I hear a mumbled, "Yes," and I shake my head.

"You're an amazing person. Please don't forget that," I reply.

This time, I almost think I catch her whisper, "Okay," but so softly it could've been my imagination.

oO0Oo

Once we're out of the pool, I hear her say, "Peridot?"

I turn around just in time to see her give me a hug. I return it instantly.

"Thanks," she murmurs. "I don't know of anyone else who would've ever come into the pool to try to fix a problem that I caused. I… I really do think you're great."

I smile. "I think you're perfect."

I hear her laugh, and it makes me smile even more to know that she's happy again, and now I'm grinning like an idiot, but I still say, "I'm serious!"

"It's hard to be serious when you're soaking wet in your pajamas, dude," she remarks.

I blush. "Well, someone didn't give me enough time to change. Next time, give me a warning, yeah?"

She smiles and steps back. "No worries, dude. I hope nothing like that happens again. But if you want, I can give you some of my dry clothes."

"All I really need is a jacket," I murmur.

She lightly shoves my shoulder. "You just want my hoodie."

I smile and shrug playfully. "You have my green one, and I'm thinking of adding some blue to my repertoire."

"Just take it." She mutters, attempting to throw it at my head, but ultimately missing and knocking a bin off a nearby bench.

I grin and pull the hoodie over my sopping wet shirt. "You hit something," I remark.

"What is it?" she asks.

"It's a small bin filled with… multicolored bracelets?"

She walks over and grins. "Oh, hey. These are nylon anklets, dude. You get one if you pass the swimming test."

We begin to pick them up, and she says, "Hey, this one's green, just like you. Take it, dude."

I hold up a blue anklet. "Nah, I found a blue one, and it reminds me of you. I'll just wear this one for the next… couple years, probably."

She grins and slips the flimsy green nylon stand over her left ankle. I do the same, but on my right.

"You do realize that I'm never actually taking this off, right?" she asks.

"Oh, definitely," I reply, bumping her ankle against mine, green against blue.

We smile at each other. Everything was okay again.


	9. Fallen Leaves

**Yeah, I'm good at writing… myself into huge plot holes that I struggle to escape from how do I fix this?**

Lapis:

"What else is there to do around here?" Peridot asks as we walk out of the pool center. She's still dripping wet from our little swim, and my eyes still have tear stains running down the side.

"Homework, I guess. This place is pretty boring," I reply.

"I was thinking that we could maybe call someone to fix the beds in our room? It's been a month already," she says casually.

I pause for a moment. I'd been putting off getting the bed repaired for a while because… I guess I'd liked having Peridot with me? I don't know. My feelings… That's something I'd rather not get into now.

She must notice my hesitation, for she quickly adds, "We don't have to use the bunk beds if you don't want. A mattress on the ground would be nice."

I shrug noncommittedly. "If that's what you want." It was definitely what I wanted.

She grins but doesn't say anything, which is nice. I nudge her right leg with my left; just a few minutes before, we'd gotten matching anklets. It made me feel… connected to her.

She nudged me back. "Are you just going to kick my leg every five seconds from now on?"

I gave her a mysterious smile. "Probably. What can you do?"

She rolls her eyes. "You could always, you know, not kick my leg."

I gently kick her leg.

She grins. "Or that, sure. Whatever."

I smile and look down. She was such a dork. "Want to go somewhere fun?"

"Sure. Not like I have anything better to do," she replies, her eyes lighting up.

"I'll race you," I say, running as fast as I could down the sidewalk.

"Hey! I don't even know where we're going!" she exclaims, sprinting towards me.

Crap. She was actually pretty fast. I grinned and took a sharp turn to the left, veering off the pavement. Peridot overran by a few steps, causing her to backtrack and change direction.

"We both know I'm faster, Lapis! It's only a matter of time!" she calls.

I'm instinctively running towards the abandoned tennis courts, my go-to place.

 _Time to change it up_ , I think to myself, running past the entrance. Peridot only glances in its direction before speeding up.

Surrounding the tennis courts are a few scattered trees, but beyond that is a thick grove of trees that stretches until it meets the stone walls that encompass the school grounds. I sprint under the canopy, admiring the foliage as I do. In the fall, the leaves turned vibrant shades of scarlet, orange, and gold.

I glance back, but I don't see Peridot. I begin to panic, but then I hear, "Surprised to see me?"

I whip my head around to find her running evenly at my side, barely breaking a sweat.

"Not at all. Actually, I was expecting you sooner," I reply, smirking.

"Don't worry, I'll be out of sight soon enough," she says, beginning to take the lead.

Just as I'm about to catch her, my foot gets stuck on a root in the ground and I begin to fall. I gasp in surprise, and Peridot turns around. She reaches for my hand, but I'm falling too fast, and I only pull her down with me. We land in a pile of freshly fallen leaves at the side of a tree.

I blink my eyes open, and stare up at the clear blue sky. I'm covered in multicolored leaves, and so is she, and I'm about to say something witty but I can't quite grasp the words, so we both glance at each other and fill the space with laughter instead.

She's cute when she smiles; it's all in her eyes, the way the pale green lights up, and I can't help but smile when I see her.

When we stop laughing, she finally says, "If you hadn't fallen, I would've won, you know."

"Whatever. I could totally beat you in the water," I reply, grinning.

She rolls her eyes good-naturedly.

I gaze over at her face. Her kind eyes are staring back, but not searching. They're content, and so am I.

"You have some leaves in your hair," I remark.

She shakes her head out like a dog. Leaves fly everywhere. I grin and shield my face playfully.

She grins. "What? Don't judge me, you're covered in leaves too."

"I'm not judging! It's cute, you dork," I reply.

She blushes, but takes it in stride and counters, "No, you're cute!" She takes one hand and slashes it through the pile, scattering leaves over my head in a multicolored rain.

I grin and begin to laugh. I splash leaves over her in a wide arc. They fall slowly, giving us time to smile at each other.

oO0Oo

When it's finally time to get up, Peridot says, "So, are we not going to mention the hands?"

I look down and blush. When I'd begun to fall, she'd grabbed my hand to try to pull me up. Even though it hadn't worked, neither of us had let go, even once we'd begun to joke.

"Are you okay with it?" I ask.

She nods, smiling quietly.

I stand up, but Peridot hesitates. I grab her other wrist and pull her up. She wasn't expecting me to pull so hard, and she overshoots, landing closer to me than she'd ever been. For a moment, I caught a whiff of her perfume, a scent of leaves and flowers, one that was well suited to the forest. Her head rested on my shoulder for one moment, and then another; too long to have just been an accident. When she pulls away, I feel disappointed, not abashed.

She looks up into my eyes for a moment, a quiet smile on her face.

We begin to head back to the dorm, hand in hand, my heart beating faster than it had in years.

oO0Oo

When we reached our dorm, I opened the door and stared into the room with shock.

"They fixed our beds!" I exclaimed.

I'd called the janitors earlier, and they'd removed the wooden bedframe but left the mattresses just as I'd requested. The two pads were side by side, one pressed against the wall and the other only inches from the door. Our dorm didn't have any space to spare.

"Nice! I don't have to sleep on the floor anymore," Peridot says, grinning.

I smile and run towards the mattresses. "I call the one closest to the wall," I say, jumping onto the padded surface. I overshot the jump, hit the mattress, bounced off, and slammed into the wall on the other side. I heard Peridot's muffled laughter, and I rolled over, clutching my sore nose from where it had hit the plaster.

"Smooth," Peridot remarks.

"I can't wait to do that every day for the next four years," I mutter.

She laughs. "Sounds like fun. Meanwhile, I'll just slowly sit down on my end of the bed with a book like a normal person."

"Normal is boring," I loudly mutter, checking my nose for signs of blood.

"Normal people don't get hurt from smashing into a wall at full force," Peridot notes, handing me a magazine.

I snatch it out of her hands. "Normal people also don't say, 'oh my stars,' so, I win," I reply.

"Fight me," she says in a bored tone, reading from her book.

"I think I will," I tease. I lay my left leg – the one with the green anklet – over both of her legs.

"Oh no. I have been defeated," she says mockingly. "I still have your leg trapped, though, so…" She traps my leg by lazily laying her arm over it.

"Fantastic," I reply, flipping open my magazine.

We both begin to read our separate books. At some point, she begins to tap her fingers on my leg, and at first, I think nothing of it, but as I focus, I realize she's writing out the words, "I love you."

I begin to blush furiously, and I see her grin out of the corner of my eye.

"I-I love you, too," I reply, making it sound as distracted as I can. But she sees how red I am, and she caught my stutter. She knows how much it means to me, and exactly how much I mean those words when I say them back.

Platonic or not, I know that I love Peridot.


	10. Shower Water

**This is the third rewrite of the chapter omg.**

Peridot:

I've never thought of myself as particularly daring. People usually refer to me as a coward. But around Lapis… Well, I told her I'd loved her. That took guts. She makes me a different person, a better person.

When we'd met, she'd seemed brave and confident. Now I realize that was just an act to hide how afraid she really was. Afraid to be hurt, afraid to love. I hope that one day I can help her be someone strong.

oO0Oo

When I wake up, I yawn and roll over so that I face Lapis. I'd thought she was still asleep, but her eyes are open.

When she sees me awake, she murmurs, "Hey."

"How long have you been awake?" I ask.

"Long enough," she replies. She grabs my wrist and turns it so she can read the time on my watch. "An hour, I guess."

"Why didn't you get up?" I ask, staring at her hand on my wrist. My face begins to heat up, but she doesn't notice.

"I don't know," she says, shrugging. "I guess now that our mattresses are side by side, I'd have to crawl over you to get out of bed. I just didn't want to wake you up. "

"Hey, don't let me stop you from getting up in the morning," I protest. "Just crawl over me or something."

She rolls her eyes, but grins. "So, like this?" she asks. She begins to carefully crawl over me on her hands and knees. I think I can almost catch her winking, but it could've been a trick of the light.

"Now that I'm awake, you could've at least waited for me to get out of bed," I growl playfully. I took my feet, put them on her stomach, and pushed up. Lapis was being held in the air by my legs, in a pose reminiscent of a flying superman. She almost falls, but I offer her my hands, and she holds onto them, using my palms to push herself up.

I hear her laugh, and I grin. I look up at her face to see it beaming down at me. Her ice blue eyes don't seem that cold to me anymore. They crinkle around the edges when she laughs, something I've always found cute. The pale freckles on her nose stand out like splashes of paint on a blank canvas. Her soft blue hair hangs down in waves, cascading around her shoulders and into the air, almost long enough to touch my nose, but not quite.

I blink slowly and snicker. I must've been the luckiest person in the world to find her.

"Yeah. Yeah, this is how I'll get over you every morning. You'll just lift me over you with your legs while you sleep," she says sarcastically.

"Exactly. Glad you agree," I reply, winking.

She rolls her eyes, and says, "Okay, you can put me down now. It's actually pretty hard to breathe like this, you know."

"If that's what you want," I say coyly, taking back my hands.

With only my legs to support her, she begins to wobble. She squeals softly, and almost falls, but just before she completely loses her balance, I put my arms back in place.

"Peridot!" she says, giggling. "You almost dropped me. I'm not that heavy, am I?"

I grin and turn onto my side, dropping her on her own mattress. We're still holding hands, and I slowly snatch them back, blushing slightly. "You know I wouldn't have dropped you," I confirm.

She grins at me, and my blush becomes more noticeable. "Of course, dude," she says confidently.

I grin back. "You know you're still on your side of the bed. Looks like you're going to have to do that again," I reply.

She gently shoves me off the mattress. "Yeah, no," she responds, hopping off the bed.

I stand up, but only after she's stepped over me. "Ugh. I think I need a shower. I still smell like chlorine from yesterday."

Lapis pauses to sniff the air. "You smell good, though."

I roll my eyes. "You would like the smell of chlorine. Maybe I should go jump in the pool more often."

"You should."

I snort. "Whatever. If you need me, I'll be in the shower."

"No, I'll have one too. My hair's a mess," she replies, brushing through her soft blue locks.

"You know there's only one shower with hot water, right? We can't both use it," I warn.

"That's no problem," she replies casually, grabbing a towel.

"Why?" I ask suspiciously.

"Because I'm going to get there first," she replies, grinning as she runs out the door.

"Hey! Lapis!" I call, sprinting after her.

I easily catch up to her before she's even made it to the common room. I gently nudge her to the side of the hallway, and she elbows me back.

"I'm faster," I call, sprinting ahead.

"Fight me," she playfully shouts.

When we hit the common room, I jump over a couch, using the cushions like a spring board.

"Show off," she calls, running around the furniture instead.

I'm in the hallway that leads to the bathroom, almost there, when I feel Lapis grab my wrist and pull me back behind her. She takes the lead, but only for a moment, as I hook her ankle with my foot and trip her. As I run past, she tries to grab my ankle, but I step out of her hold, racing past her fallen form and into the bathroom.

I run into the only working stall just as Lapis sprints through the doorway. She curses quietly.

"Yes! Looks like you lost this round, Lapis, cause I just got the only shower with hot water. Victory tastes sweet. Have fun in your ice cold shower." I call teasingly.

I reach to turn the shower on, and it's only after I turn the nozzle that I realize my mistake.

"Ahhh!" I yelp as water pours out of the shower head onto me. I was still wearing my clothes.

Lapis starts laughing, and she has to lean on the shower stall for support. "That's the best thing I've seen all day," she says between breaths.

I roll my eyes, but she doesn't stop. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want. I'm an idiot," I mutter.

When she doesn't stop, I say, "Yeah, well at least I'm not the only one who's wet."

She looks up questioningly, and I grab her wrist, pulling her under the spray with me. Her laughter stops immediately, cut off by spluttering.

I begin giggling and snorting, while she tries to blink water out of her eyes. After a moment, she starts laughing again, but this time it's real laughter, happy laughter.

I grin. "I guess I should stop calling you Rain, and instead call you…" I pause. "…Shower water?"

She snorts. "Oh sign me the hell up. Shower water? That's a pretty sexy name you chose there, Peridot."

I blush. "I screwed up, okay?"

She shakes her head from side to side to try to get the water out of her hair, even though she's still under the spray. Water droplets catch me in the face, and I blink. "And I think it's cute how you tried," she affirms. "But you ended up with Shower Water, possibly the worst nickname I've ever heard."

"Whatever. I still beat you to the shower," I mutter good naturedly.

She pauses for a moment. Water slices over us, and mist rises in the air. Lapis gives me a mischievous grin, and our eyes meet for just a moment. But then, she turns the spray from 'gentle rain,' to 'pulse,' which is the hardest and fastest spray there is on the shower head.

"Ah!" I exclaim as the hard spray bounces off my skin. "Lapis!"

I hear her giggle again, and I reach up to the nozzle and direct it straight at her.

She laughs and pulls the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. "You forget that I enjoy being in the water," she says.

"Let's see how much you enjoy it without your hood," I start, taking a step forwards so I can lower her hoodie. But the shower floor is wet, and I lose my footing, and I grab her shoulder to steady myself. When I look up, I'm only inches from her face. She smirks.

"What was that about without a hood?" she asks.

I blush furiously.

"You know, you'd think the shower would cool you down a little, but you must be warm, seeing how red you are," she comments.

"No, it's too hot," I mumbled.

"Hot damn," she replied.

I started at her for a moment, and then I pushed her face away with my hand. She began to laugh, and turned off the water.

"Your face was priceless," she said, grinning.

I put my hand over my face, but still grin. "Whatever, Rain. I'm going to go dry off."

oO0Oo

Back at the room, I open my drawer to find…

"Hey, Lapis? Did you put on a load of wash?" I ask.

She's getting dressed in the corner, so I don't turn around. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't have any clothes left," I state, looking at my mostly bare drawer. "Unless you want me to walk around only wearing socks, could I borrow some stuff?"

I hear her lay down on the bed, and I know it's safe to look. "Go for it. Take whatever you need."

I open her dresser, and take out a dark blue tank top with stars on it, light blue jean shorts, and a black beanie. I didn't need the hat, but I thought it looked good.

"What do you think?" I ask once I've dressed.

Lapis rolls over to face me, and immediately blushes.

"I'll take that as a, 'you look great, Peridot,'" I answer.

She rolls over again. "Whatever."

I hop down on the bed. "What do you want to do next? There are still a couple hours left before we have to sleep."

She shrugs. "Do you want to watch YouTube on your laptop together?"

I grin. "Definitely. Do you want me to make hot cocoa?"

"Sure. I can make it while you load up your computer," she replies eagerly.

"I'll make the hot chocolate. You literally can't cook at all. You'd find some way to mess it up," I countered.

She sighs, but says, "Fair enough. I can't even make cereal."

I snort. "How can you fail at making a bowl of cereal?"

"I missed the bowl when I tried to pour the milk," she replies.

"Oh my stars."

"Shut up."

I grin and stand up. "I'll be back with the food."

oO0Oo

After a few minutes, we were both laying on our stomachs on the bed, sipping hot chocolate while watching our favorite TV show. We were covered in the same blanket, which meant we were fairly close.

"No! Don't marry him, you idiot!" Lapis yells indignantly at the screen.

"I know!" I affirm. "She'd be way better off with her ex!"

I slowly sip my hot cocoa. No matter how much I tried, I really couldn't pay attention to the show. I was too focused on Lapis, the way her eyes lit up when something exciting happened, or how she restlessly tapped her fingers on the mattress at the suspenseful parts. She was so cute, and I smiled every time I saw her.

Grinning, I took my phone out and took a picture of her.

"If you're uploading that, make sure to tag me," Lapis says absently, not looking away from the screen.

I quickly post it to my Instagram and tumblr.

Lapis slams her hand on the mattress. "No! He's not right for you! Ugh!" she exclaims, rolling over onto her back. "Why are some characters such idiots?"

She was so close to me, our shoulders were touching. I blushed, but she couldn't see. "Uh… I don't know?"

She rolls over again, this time to the other side. "I can't watch this garbage anymore tonight. Want to just go to sleep?"

"Sure. We can clean up tomorrow. Night, Rain," I say, turning off my laptop.

She pulls the blanket farther up. "Night, Evergreen."

A pause. Then I hear her sigh. "Hey, Peridot?" she asks.

"Yeah?" I reply, opening my eyes.

"I just wanted to let you know... I had a lot of fun today. Thanks," she confessed.

"So did I," I confirmed.

"You're my best friend, you know? I just... really appreciate you," she adds.

I roll over to face her. "Lapis, you're by far the best friend I've ever had, okay? You're amazing. Don't forget that." I assure.

I can't see her face, but I know she's smiling.


	11. Splashed

**Writing is actually decently hard?**

Peridot:

I'd honestly really enjoyed yesterday. It was so… pure and happy. Lapis was an awesome… friend? Best friend? What was she to me?

I was just questioning this, when I heard an alarm go off. Since when did we have one of those?

"What?" I muttered, rolling over in bed.

"Sorry, Peridot. I didn't mean to wake you up," Lapis replies, drowsily climbing out of bed.

"You set an alarm, Lapis. I'm pretty sure those are meant to wake people up," I counter, slowly sitting up.

She hits snooze. "Whatever. I have a tournament today, and I have to be at the pool in a half hour," she explains.

"If you have a tournament, shouldn't you be on the bus to get there?" I mutter.

"It's a home competition," she informs. "It's at our own pool."

I quickly sit up. "So you mean I can watch?"

She shrugs. "If you want. You don't have to," she murmurs.

I grin. "Oh, I'm definitely watching. Is it a big tournament?"

"Yeah," she says, nodding, "I need to win this to qualify for regionals. After regionals coms states, then nationals, and then the junior Olympics. If I lose here, it's over. My dream dies."

I stand up. "Then I'll totally be there for moral support."

She grins as she pulls on a blue hoodie. "I'll look forward to it," she replies, winking.

I blush, and as she walks out the door, I think I catch her snickering.

oO0Oo

I sit in the front row of the bleachers, slowly sipping the bland coffee I'd gotten a few minutes before. The pool was empty, except for our own swim team. I hadn't realized it was so small. It was only made of nine swimmers, barely enough to field two relay teams.

The coach was loudly discussing the events. Most people were staring off into space, but Lapis was hanging onto every word. Her foot was restlessly tapping on the ground. You easily could tell how much she loved to swim by the way she hung onto every piece of advice the coach gave.

Just as I took a bite out of my breakfast burrito, a large crowd came in. I guessed that they were the other teams. Each group was wearing jackets with matching colors. A large fan procession came after, crowding the once deserted bleachers. Now surrounding me were mothers, coaches, and students from rival schools, all happily talking.

At first I wondered why those schools could bring spectators and why we never could at our away competitions. But then it dawned on me; our school was embarrassed of the swim team.

Suddenly, another student sits next to me, interrupting my thoughts.

"Hey," they say.

I look over. Sitting next to me was a muscular girl roughly around my age with short, blonde hair. She was wearing a yellow hoodie with a diamond insignia on it.

"Hi, my name's Topaz," she says. "What's your name?"

"I'm Peridot," I reply. "Are you competing today?"

She shakes her head. "Nah, I'm just here to cheer on my friend, Aquamarine. Well, not really friend, more like roommate. And she forced me to. What about you?"

"I'm just supporting my…" I paused. What was Lapis to me? "…best friend, Lapis. We're roommates too, but she didn't force me to come."

Her eyes widen. "You mean Lapis Lazuli? That's Aqua's big rival."

"Huh. Lapis never mentioned her," I note.

Topaz snorts. "Oh, Aquamarine's going to be so mad. She's always complaining about her at practice. It'll be a big shock to know Lapis doesn't obsess over her as well."

I glance over at Lapis, who's currently stretching out on the side of the pool. She has her hair back in a messy bun, which makes her look really good. Like, extremely good. She's smiling and gazing at the rippling waters of the pool. Like this, right now, she looked perfectly at ease. I blush, but I hope Topaz doesn't notice.

Sadly, she does. She follows my gaze.

"Yeah, that's her. She has to win this race to go to regionals, right?" Topaz asks.

I nod. "That's what she said this morning. Isn't it the same for Aquamarine?"

Topaz shakes her head. "She qualified last tournament. I don't think your school was there. This competition is just so Aqua can add more medals to her shelf," Topaz explains.

I open my mouth to reply, but the announcer comes on calling for the competitors of the first event. Topaz leans back in her seat and pulls out a bag of chips.

"Want some?" she asks, holding the bag out to me. "It'll be a while before Lapis and Aqua are up."

I shrug and take a handful. "How long will it be?"

"About three hours," Topaz replies.

I sigh and lean back in my seat. I glanced over at Lapis again, who was talking to one of the others on the swim team. Both were laughing.

Topaz glanced at me. "You guys sure that you're just best friends?"

I blush. "What makes you say that?" I ask.

"It's in the way you look at her," Topaz answers.

I blush harder. "What do you know about love?" I mutter, embarrassed.

"I have a girlfriend, too, you know. Coincidentally, she's also named Topaz. I love her," Topaz says, smiling.

I look out the window. It had started to rain heavily, soaking any unfortunate soul who happened to be stuck outside. Rain. Just like Lapis. My mind flits back to the day we met, when it had been pouring out, and we'd been stuck underneath the bus stop awning. I remember how she'd looked then, out in the cold rain, beaming from ear to ear.

After a moment of silence, I confess, "Okay, so maybe I do like her. I don't know, I just… don't want to scare her. Or go too fast. I don't really know what I'm doing."

"That's okay, dude. I've met her before, and I think you two would be good for each other. You're both cool people," Topaz replies.

I smile. "Thanks. You won't tell her, will you?"

Topaz snorts. "Of course not."

I grin. "You're like the love expert."

Topaz stretches out. "If that's what you want to call me, sure. I guess I have good relationship advice."

"Do you want to trade phone numbers?" I ask.

"Sure," she says, pulling out her phone. "Now we can text each other late at night and ask random questions like, "Do pigeons have feelings?" and "If you're not supposed to eat after dark, why is there a light in the refrigerator?"

I think about that for a second. "Wait, that's actually a really good question."

She grins. "I got it off Tumblr."

Suddenly, a short girl comes stomping over. "Topaz! What did I tell you about socializing with the enemy?"

Topaz sighs. "Not to do it."

"That's right! And what did you do?" Aquamarine asks.

"I socialized with the enemy," Topaz sullenly replies.

"That's right! Now, leave her alone and come over to our section of the bleachers," Aqua says, walking away.

Suddenly, Lapis walks over. "Hey Peridot, have you seen my-" she pauses at the sight of Aqua. "Hello, Aquamarine. Long time no see, which I guess is a good thing. I don't know why anyone would want to see your face."

Aqua smiles. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Lapis Lazuli. Looking horrible as usual, I see. Have you grown uglier since we last met? You know, I didn't think it was possible, but you've proved me wrong!"

Lapis narrows her eyes. "Yeah? Well, at least I don't have to force people to watch me," she sneers, pointing at Topaz.

"At least my fans don't have to watch me fail miserably!" Aqua nearly shouts.

"I'm not going to fail!" Lapis yells.

"Your entire life is a failure!" Aquamarine counters quietly.

Lapis looks furious for a moment, and even I'm scared, and I'm not at the receiving end. But she clenches her fists, and at the last second says in a forced tone, "My life is fine."

Aqua smiles. "Are you really sure about that, sweetie?"

Lapis only grits her teeth. The two girls stand eye to eye, neither saying a word.

Suddenly, the announcer's voice cut through the tension. "Will all participants in the hundred meter race please go to your lanes? Your event is about to begin."

Both girls stalk off to their marks. But before Lapis can get far, I grab her wrist.

"Lapis, wait!" I say.

She whips around. "What do you want, Peridot?" she growls.

I stare into her eyes, my gaze unwavering. "Don't let what she said get to you. I believe in you, alright? You're going to do great."

She glares at me for a moment, and then her gaze softens. "Alright. Thanks, Peridot."

As she walks away, I wish I'd said something more. Resigned, I walk back to my seat with Topaz.

"Wow," she says, looking between the two girls.

"Tell me about it," I mutter.

"Aqua must really want to win this race. She hasn't been that brutal in a while," Topaz remarks.

"Lapis was pretty mean too," I note.

"Nah, I don't blame her. Aquamarine sabotaged her in states last year. It's why she didn't make it to junior Olympics. Aquamarine crushed her dreams," Topaz explains.

"Sabotaged?" I ask.

"Yeah. She tripped Lapis so she fell and broke her wrist. She got kicked out for it, but the damage was done," Topaz confirms.

"Wow," I murmur, looking at the blue haired girl. Her face was set in a mask of determination as she lined up on the side of the pool.

The announcer told everyone to get in their ready positions, and the swimmers all prepared to dive in. On his count, they took off, cutting through the water as fast as they could. I started to cheer on Lapis, standing up in my seat.

Lapis and Aquamarine both immediately pulled far ahead, leaving the others in their wake. The two furiously splash, leaving ripples in the water.

"In this race, I think they just have one lap," Topaz explains.

"C'mon, Lapis!" I call.

The two rivals were so close, it was hard to discern who was farther ahead. When they reached the other side of the pool, they twisted, kicked off, and spun around, gaining speed on their return.

The two girls rushed back to the original side of the pool. They reached the finish line in a dead tie. I quickly grabbed a towel from my backpack and rushed over to Lapis.

She was still in the pool when I got there, so I offered her a hand up. She took it, and I struggled to lift her, but she still managed to make it out.

"Nice swimming," I praise, handing her the towel.

The blue haired girl was panting heavily, and took it without looking up. "Thanks, Peridot. Who won?"

I looked at the scoreboard. "They have you both in first right now, but I think they're going to review it," I replied.

I saw Aquamarine storming off to Topaz in the corner of my eye, but I decided not to mention it. "You did amazing out there. You beat the person in third by almost fifteen seconds," I noted,

"Unless I beat Aqua, it'll have all been for nothing," she mutters.

I put my arm around her shoulder, and it's immediately soaked. "Hey, don't worry. I know you'll win."

She smiles, but doesn't say anything.

I look up at the scoreboard and gasp. "Look!"

Up on the scoreboard, Aquamarine's name had a small two next to it.

"I did it!" she exclaims, throwing her arms around me in a bear hug.

I grin and return the hug. "You're going to regionals!"

When we finally let go, I blush, and I think she does a little too, because she turns her head away.

After that, she has to step up to the podium to get her prize, and I don't have the chance to talk to her again until the other teams are gone and we're the last ones left.

"Hey," I say, casually walking over to where she stands by the pool.

"Did you ever hear how much I won by?" she asks in a detached tone.

"Um, no," I reply, confused.

"I only won by seven hundredths of a second. If I'd been just a moment slower, my dream would've died, just like that," she murmurs, staring at her reflection in the water.

I come to stand beside her. My reflection looks confident. "But you _were_ fast enough, and that's what matters. You did amazing out there today," I say, smiling.

When she doesn't answer, I take her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. You're doing great," I assure.

She smiles. "Thanks," she says softly.

"C'mon. We should get out of here. It's getting pretty late. I already ordered a pizza to our room," I say.

She grins. "A pizza? You must really hate my cooking," she replies. "Besides, isn't it raining? We could just stay here."

"It'll be fine. Besides, you love the rain," I say, waving off her concerns.

She smiles, saying, "Alright, if you're okay with it," and pulls me by the hand out the door and into the pouring rain.

"I bet I'll beat you back," I call, whipping my hand away and taking off down the sidewalk.

"In your dreams!" Lapis yells, running after me.

I snicker, knowing that she'll never catch up. Sadly, I must not know everything, as she quickly matches my speed and races by my side.

"What? How?" I splutter.

"I'm barefoot," she explains, indicating her feet.

I'm about to reply that bare feet shouldn't affect anything, when my foot slips in a puddle, giving me barely enough time to steady myself.

She giggles. "I won't slip if I don't have shoes on," she remarks.

I roll my eyes and speed up. Just before I reach her again, she jumps in a nearby puddle and splashes water all over the both of us.

I laugh and shield my face from the water. "You thought that would slow me down?" I demand.

She grins playfully. "It was worth a try."

I jump up, my fingers skimming the tree branches above us, creating an even heavier shower of rain. She smiles and laughs.

"You forget I enjoy this," she teases.

I pull ahead just as we reach the door to the main building.

"How are you even so fast?" Lapis pants, catching up. "It's like you're super human."

"It's called exercising," I tease.

"What's that?" she replies, not missing a beat.

"Not sure, I think I read about it once," I answer.

"Oh, cool. Sounds hard. Tumblr is way more fun," she comments.

"Lapis, I've seen your Tumblr, and honestly, I'm decently concerned," I reply.

She starts laughing. "Okay, but like, I kind of gave you my spare account. That's not even the worst of it," she replies.

"No, I found your main, and, all I can say is… why are you like this?" I question, pinching the bridge of my nose, reminded of her account.

She starts laughing harder. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

I open the door to the building and reply, "Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

Still laughing, she follows me in. We're dripping water all over the carpet. She shakes her head like a dog to dispel the water. I grin and shield my face.

"Oh, come on. You're literally soaked. What does it matter if you get a little more wet?" she asks.

"Whatever," I reply. "We should get out of here before someone realizes it was us who ruined the carpet."

She shrugs. "Suit yourself," she replies, slowly walking upstairs.

oO0Oo

Once we're back at our dorm, Lapis hangs her medal on her dresser and takes off her hoodie silently, stifling a yawn.

"You really did do great out there," I say, laying down in bed, too tired to undress. I realize too late that the bed is soaked, but I only close my eyes and roll over. That would be a problem for tomorrow.

"Thanks." She pauses. "Hey, Peridot?"

"Yeah?" I reply, sitting up.

Another pause. "Never mind, it was nothing."

I get the feeling that she backed out of telling me something important. "You sure?"

She hesitates, and then she says, "Did you… judge me because of what happened with Aquamarine earlier? I know I was really rude to her…"

I shake my head. "No. Topaz – that was the girl sitting next to me – told me how she broke your wrist last year. I didn't want to bring Aqua up in case it was a sore spot. Are you okay after what she said?"

Lapis shrugs, and steps over me so she can reach her own bed. "I'm used to it."

"That's not something you should get used to!" I exclaim, remembering Aqua's harsh words.

Lapis sits down against the wall. "Look, it's fine. _I'm_ fine."

I look at her for a moment, and then pull her into a hug. "You know, I don't think you're a failure. I think you're pretty great, actually," I murmur.

I hear her breath in sharply, but she still returns the hug. "T-thanks." She sniffles. "I think you're amazing, Peridot. You're always so kind and caring. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'd be fine," I reply casually.

"No!" she instantly exclaims. "I mean… You mean a lot to me. Don't sell yourself short."

"But I am short. I'm like, Five foot two."

She breathes out heavily, like she's trying not to laugh. "Oh my stars. Peridot, just, like, chill."

I grin and pull away. "Night, Lazuli."

"Since when have you called me by my last name?"

"Since when have you said, 'oh my stars?'" I counter.

She rolls her eyes. "Looks like you're finally rubbing off on me, Peri. Just go to sleep."

She turns out the lights and rolls over.

I try to sleep, but something still nags at me. "Hey! I ordered a pizza!" I exclaim.

I hear her laugh and turn towards me. "Amethyst probably took it. There might be some in the fridge tomorrow."

"Didn't even get dinner," I grumble.

She takes my hand. "Sleep now. Eat later," she mumbles drowsily.

I blush, heat going to my face. "Okay," I murmur, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. I'll eat tomorrow, when the sun rises. I'll wait as long as it takes, as long as I get to hold her hand now.


	12. Here We Go Again

**Two chapters at once – who would've thought? Also okay no I totally didn't forget that certain characters existed haha why do you ask I remember all of my characters, like Lapis, Peridot, *reads smudged writing on hand* Amsterdam, Paul, and Jazzercise. Wait guys I messed up-**

Lapis:

Going by the calendar, we only have one week of school before winter break. Our break is a month long, with two weeks off before Christmas, and two weeks after. It should be nice – a whole month away from most of the students and Pink Diamond – what's not to like? But this vacation, my parents had asked me to visit them. They forced me to, actually. So instead of spending vacation with Peridot, I got to spend it with dear old mom and dad. Great.

"So, wait, you're leaving?" Peridot squawked.

I looked down. "I don't like it any much more than you do, trust me. My parents and I… well… It's complicated."

She looks at me sympathetically, but I can't meet her eyes. I know Peridot had some sort of problem with her parents, but not like this. As far as I knew, no had problems like I did.

"I'll be back when break is over, I guess," I said, shrugging. "But you'll be gone too, right?"

"Only for the first week. I have an archery tournament," Peridot confirms.

I sigh. "Whatever. Let's just make the most of this last week, okay?"

She nods. "Yeah. Do you want to go down for breakfast today?"

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

As we walked down, I looked at Peridot. I didn't say it often enough to her face, but she really was beautiful, at least to me. I smiled at her. When she noticed, I looked away, blushing.

"Hey, Lapis? There's something I've been meaning to ask you lately," she murmurs, looking at the ground.

"Yeah?" I reply, staring at my feet.

"Um… how would you feel if…" she's cut off by an all too familiar voice.

"Hey! Lazuli! Get over here!"

I stop dead in my tracks, clenching my fists. My eyes are wide, and tears threaten to spill over. She had only bothered me once all year; it had been too good to be true.

"Leave me alone, Jasper," I mutter, keeping my back to the brutish girl. "Please don't come near us."

I hear her angry footsteps stomping close, and I force myself to turn around.

"I saw you at the swim meet last Saturday! You hugged this loser in front of everyone!" Jasper yells, pointing at Peridot. "You're supposed to be in love with me, not some twerp!"

Peridot's hands are trembling, but she doesn't say anything, and keeps a cold gaze on Jasper.

"You were watching my swim meet?" I exclaim.

Jasper grins slyly. "I watch all of your home swim meets."

I tense up. "So what if I did hug Peridot? You and I aren't a thing, and we never will be! I'm free to do what I want!"

Jasper clenches her fists, and I flinch. Peridot sees this, and looks shocked.

"Lapis, has she ever…" she asks, unable to speak the words that finish her sentence.

When I don't reply, she gets angry. Like, visibly furious. She marches straight up to Jasper until she's within three feet of her.

"Listen here, you oversized meathead. If I see you lay even a finger on Lapis ever again, I will personally-"

But whatever Peridot would personally do is unknown, as Jasper chose this time to attempt to punch Peridot in the face. I quickly sidestepped between the two girls, and blocked Jasper's fist with my side arm. It stung, but not nearly as much as it would've for Peridot had I not been there.

I glare at the orange haired girl, while she merely stares back triumphantly.

"Peridot, run," I commanded. "I don't want you getting hurt." I could handle myself.

"No way!" she exclaims.

"You shouldn't be so concerned about her. You should worry about yourself instead," Jasper growls.

I whip back around to face the brutish girl just as her fist connects with my face. My eye in particular, actually. The left one.

"Ah!" I cry out, stumbling backwards into Peridot. She keeps me from falling, but only just barely.

Jasper snorts. "It's funny how you'll try to save your little friend there, but you can't even save yourself. Pathetic."

Tears well in my good eye, and Peridot puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Let's get out of here," she murmurs.

"Let's get out of here," Jasper says in a mocking tone. "Don't you ever fight, Lazuli? You're always running! Why don't you do something for once?"

I glare at her. "Because I'm not like you."

She grins. "That's where you're wrong, Lapis. We're the same. You know that."

I flinch. Peridot gently takes my hand. "It's okay. Let's go. You don't need her."

I nod at Peridot, and together we take off. I hear Jasper chasing, but I don't acknowledge it.

oO0Oo

By the time we get back to the dorm, it's fifteen minutes later, and only after we've taken twenty wrong turns to try to mislead Jasper. Once we're sure she's gone, I head straight for the bathroom.

"Hey, Lapis? Do you want me to take a look at your eye? I'm pretty good at first aid," Peridot calls from the hallway.

"Uh… No thanks. I'm just going to take a shower," I reply.

"Once you're out, meet me in our room," she says, walking away.

I head for the shower and turn the water on. Cold water pulses over my body, but I take no mind of it. I hesitantly touch my left eye, the one Jasper hit. My hand jerks back in pain. The eyelid is swollen shut, with no hope of opening any time soon.

Frustrated, I kick the shower wall, which isn't a good idea, as it's covered in tiles.

 _It's been a while since I've felt so powerless,_ I think to myself.

I curl up against the wall of the shower and silently cry.

oO0Oo

"Lapis?" Peridot's voice calls from outside the shower curtain. "Lapis, are you okay?"

"Yeah!" I reply.

"Are you sure? You've been in there for an hour!" she asks.

"I just need to be alone right now!" I call.

I hear an exasperated sigh. "Lapis, that's literally the thing you should be avoiding." A pause. "Listen, I brought you a towel. Either you come out right now, or I'm going to fetch the first aid kit and come in there myself.

I don't reply. She throws the towel in the shower, and it hits me in the head.

"Lapis! Get decent, because I'm coming in there right now," she says.

"No!" I yell ferociously.

She sighs. "I know you've been through a lot today, but please, let me help you."

"Please, Peridot, just let me be alone," I desperately cry. "I don't want your help!"

A beat of silence. Two beats. Then, "I'm going to the room. If you're not there in five minutes, I'm coming back."

I hear her footsteps leading out of the door. I turn around and look at the towel Peridot threw in. It was blue, my favorite color. I stare at it for a moment before turning off the icy water.

I walk into the room wearing the same clothes as I had when I met Jasper; a long sleeved shirt and jean shorts. Peridot's eyes soften when she sees me, but I notice that her gaze doesn't travel as far up as my face. I rub the back of my neck nervously.

"Hey," I mumble.

She breaks into a grin. "You actually came out on your own."

I sit next to her on the bed. "Yeah. Cold showers are depressing."

Her gaze travels as high as my neck, but it stops there. "How much space do you want right now?"

I look away. "I don't know."

"I never realized Jasper… I don't want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable in the way she does," Peridot continues cautiously.

I give a harsh laugh. "Then don't punch me in the face. It's as simple as that." I sigh. "But for real… I don't want her anywhere near me. You're free to do anything. I trust you."

She finally musters up the courage to look at my eye, and her reaction nearly breaks my heart. Her face flickers in surprise, and tears well in her eyes. "Oh my stars, what did she _do_ to you," she murmurs.

I wince, and she says, "No, I didn't mean-"

I take her hand and cut her off. "It's okay. Let's just… Let's just fix this."

She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, and replies, "Yeah. I think I have some ointment for your eye that might help it open." She walks over to her dresser and pulls out a white and red box. She grabs a short tube and brings it back.

"This should help," she murmurs. She squeezes a dab of lotion onto her finger, and holds it up. "It… it might sting a little," she murmurs, hesitating before she applies it.

I take a deep breath. "Go for it."

She lightly touches her finger with the ointment to my bad eye, and a sudden flare of pain surges through it. I reflexively grab her wrist in a tight grip.

"Sorry, I…" I start, quickly letting go.

"Does it hurt?" she murmurs, searching my face.

I shrug. "Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"…Then yeah, a little," I reply, looking down.

"Then I won't do it," she says, putting the cap back on the lotion bottle. "Your feelings matter too, Lapis."

I watch her carefully. "Why do you…" I pause.

She turns around. "Why what?"

I look away. "Why do you care about me so much?"

She takes both my hands in hers and stares at me. "So many reasons, Lapis. You're kind, caring, brave, and selfless, to name a few. You just have to believe in yourself."

I lean on her shoulder, and she puts her arm around me. "You know, the way you looked when you blocked her punch – I was terrified." Seeing my alarmed gaze, she hurries to clarify. "I mean – I was about to get hurt, and you just sidestepped in like a pro to block it. Then you turned around, and your eyes had this fire in them – a burning passion. You… you told me to go so I wouldn't get hurt, then you took a punch to the face. And oh my stars, catching you…" she trails off, her face bright red.

I smile. "Go on," I say in a teasing voice.

"I thought, 'Oh my stars, how did this happen? Here I am, holding an insanely beautiful girl in my arms, and I think I like her? Not just for her looks, but because she's sarcastic and funny, too?' And then you take the hit like a champ and run for the next fifteen minutes straight? That's amazing!" she pauses. "I'm so lucky to have you."

I lean in closer on her shoulder. "I think I'm the lucky one, because I get to be with you, Peridot, the girl who gives me blue towels to cheer me up because she knows blue is my favorite, and who'll run in the rain and jump in the leaves with me."

She smiles. "We both must've won the lottery."

I let out a contented sigh. "You know what? I think we did."

oO0Oo

By the time the week is over, my eye can now open again, and my mood has vastly improved. However, my departure hangs over me like a black cloud. But the day has finally come.

"I hate packing," Peridot complains, stuffing her laptop into a carry-on bag. "I'll only be gone a week."

"Lucky. I'll be gone a month," I complain.

She playfully nudges my shoulder. "You'll be back before you know it."

I sigh. "I guess. I'll miss you a lot, Peridot," I say, walking out of our dorm room door.

She gives me a lopsided grin. "Me too, Lazuli."

I walk downstairs to find the taxi that will take me to my parents, hoping it will never come.

It does.


	13. Wish Upon a Star

**Ugh I hate Jasper chapters but I still want to keep her as a character that plays the same role. Honestly I'm reading all these great fics and the authors have great senses of humor and then I look at my fic like, "wow I have the appeal of a wet rag… where even is the appeal in this story because it sure isn't in the plot, humor, or romance haha…"**

Peridot:

I walk up the stairs to my dorm, a shiny new gold medal buried in my suitcase. _First place in an archery competition isn't too bad, Peridot,_ I tell myself. _A shame Lazuli isn't here to see it._

I open the door to my room, and immediately an alarm goes off. I hear a startled yelp, and suddenly I'm being attacked by – nerf gun darts?

"What?" I exclaim, stumbling backwards.

The shooting stops. "Peridot?" I hear a confused murmur.

"Lapis?"

The light in the room turns on, and there she is, the love of my life, in a crop top and short shorts, holding a nerf gun aimed at my chest. "Oh, right. I forgot you were coming back today," she mutters, laying back down on her bed.

I drag my suitcases into the dark blue room. "Why are you back? You said you'd be gone for a month! I mean, I'm glad you're here, but what the stars why are you shooting a nerf gun at me?"

"I had to make sure it was you," she mumbles, pulling the blanket over her head.

"How much sleep did you get?" I ask, noticing the bags under her eyes.

"No," she drowsily replies.

I stare at her unmoving form. "I'll take that as a, 'none,' Lapis. But why are you here?" I repeat.

"I told you, I don't get along with my parents. They only wanted to see me to yell at me for… stuff. So I ran away, ended up back here," she confesses.

I sit down next to her. "Why didn't you sleep?"

"I've been on the lookout."

"Did Jasper bother you?" I ask.

"Once, but I didn't let her leave any marks this time," she answers.

"Good," I reply truthfully.

When she doesn't answer, I add, "You should get some sleep. I'll keep watch for you."

She doesn't reply, and I assume she's already asleep, so I start unpacking.

oO0Oo

She's been asleep for a few hours now, and by this time I've already settled on our bed next to her, reading a nice book.

"Peridot? When did you get here?" she mutters, rolling over.

"Do… do you not remember? Are you feeling okay?" I ask, glancing at her with concern.

"Yeah." A pause. "What do you want to do today?"

I snort. "Like you're fit to do anything. You need rest."

She sits up, rubbing her head. "How about… no?" she replies. "I've been bored all week. Let's go do something."

I take one quick glance at the bags under her eyes. "I'll do something later. You look exhausted."

She pouts. "Yeah, but…"

I give her a lopsided smile. "I promise I'll have something cool planned, okay?"

She rolls her eyes and lays back down. "Whatever. I'll just be here… sleeping…"

I stand up and begin to rummage through my drawer. I had the perfect plan.

oO0Oo

Lapis:

When I wake up again, Peridot's standing over me, grinning like an idiot.

"Morning," I mutter.

"It's ten o' clock at night, Lapis," she says, scrunching up her nose.

I sit up, yawning. "How long was I out for?"

"A few hours," Peridot replies, checking her watch. "You must've been really tired."

I stretch my arms over my head. "Yeah. So what do you want to do?" I ask.

Her grin widens. "I actually have something planned. Follow me, but don't open your eyes," she says mysteriously, handing me a bandana.

I tie the green cloth around my face, and she takes my hand in hers, leading me down hallways and up staircases, until finally she says, "Okay, this one's a ladder, so be careful."

I raise an eyebrow. "A ladder? I didn't know the school had one of those anywhere."

"Just climb. I'll catch you if you fall," Peridot replies.

"What if I fall on purpose just so you'll catch me?" I ask, grinning.

"Okay but the chances of me actually being strong enough to hold your weight are very small, so I would not," Peridot answers.

I shrug and being to climb. When I make it to the top, I feel the wind in my hair. "Are we outside?" I exclaim.

Peridot climbs off the ladder and replies, "You can take off the blindfold now."

I slowly remove it, and find that we're on the roof of the building. A blanket is near one of the edges, and on it are plates of food and a pitcher of lemonade.

"It's a picnic," I happily note.

She grins. "Do you like it?"

"Of course," I reply, smiling sweetly at the blonde girl. She rubs the back of her neck nervously.

"This is sort of my go-to for fun stuff. Eating calms me down," Peridot explains. "And doing it outside with a friend is even better."

I grin excitedly and lead her over to the blanket by her hand. We immediately start eating the food she brought; she chooses a slice of watermelon, and I take some pizza.

"Why the roof, though? I didn't realize the school kept that unlocked," I mused.

Peridot rubs the back of her neck. "They… um… don't." I catch the amused look on her face and mumble, "I thought you'd like it up here, with the stars and all."

We both look up. The dazzling stars shone brightly against the ink black sky, each one sparkling like a small diamond. The outlines of the pine trees on the horizon created a dramatic skyline that was beautiful enough to go on an aesthetic tumblr blog. But none of it was as pretty as her.

"How'd you even get up here, then?" I ask.

"I… um… know how to pick locks…" she confesses, embarrassed.

I laugh. "Okay, but why?"

She blushes. "I thought it would make cooler so people would like me." She pauses. "I was eight."

I grin. "Well, I like you, and it's not because you can pick locks."

She taps her fingers on her knee. "It can't be my personality, either, so I have no clue why you actually like me at all."

I flick a piece of pepperoni off my pizza at her. "Don't be dumb." She pauses as I give her a meaningful glance. "You're not an idiot, Peridot, you have better grades than me, but that's not why I like you either. You're kind, sweet, caring, thoughtful – don't you dare deny it," I say as she opens her mouth to protest.

She pauses, looking at me like I'm the most beautiful girl in the world. "I brought you some paper so you could draw," she says, changing the subject.

I perk up, immediately forgetting about our conversation, school, and everything else. Peridot notices, and chuckles.

"What?" I reply indignantly. "I like art."

"I've noticed," she replies dryly.

She tosses me a pad of paper and a box of colored pencils.

"Holy cosmos – eight colors? Sign me the hell up," I note, inspecting the colored pencils.

"Didn't realize you liked any color other than blue, Lazuli. I wasn't even sure you knew they existed, based on your wardrobe."

"Green's cool too," I comment, winking at her. "But you're right about that last bit, because what the hell is red?"

She snorts. "Your face is red, like, most of the time you're around me."

"That's not true," I protest, though this is cancelled out as I start to blush.

She smirks. "Yeah, right. You think I don't notice, but how can I not when your face is literally as red as a tomato?"

I roll my eyes. "Okay, but please shut up."

She snorts. "And there's that cheery personality I see so often."

I widen my eyes. "Wow! Are you being sarcastic? Hold up, I've got to go alert the media, because wow – Peridot using sarcasm?"

"I'm sarcastic all the time!" she replies quickly.

"Yeah, that totally happens. Just like I love the color red, and your favorite sport is hockey," I answer.

She rolls her eyes. "Well, aren't you fun."

"I try."

She snorts. "You're more edgy than anything."

"I'm not edgy! I just…" I trail off, remembering my tumblr. "Screw you," I say jokingly.

"Yeah, it's too late Lapis, I know what a little edge lord you are."

"Aren't you special," I reply.

"Oh, but I am," she counters.

I grin. "You should be sarcastic more often; it suits you."

"Okay, but also please do not be more sarcastic because I would literally die."

"Die from what, exactly?" I question.

"…Sarcasm."

"Yeah, cause that's so lethal."

She snorts. "There you go again, Lazuli. I'm dead now. You've done it." She falls in my lap, pretending to be dead.

She opens one eye and takes a look at my face. "Your face is red again," she says, making my face only redder.

I look away, aware of the butterflies fluttering aimlessly in my stomach.

 _Digest those butterflies,_ I tell myself aggressively. _I am not going to get super nervous today. No. Definitely not._

My heart doesn't seem to want to listen, but then again, it never has.

"You good?" she asks.

"I'm better than good; I have my favorite nerd laying down in my lap. How could it get any better?"

She blushes. "Your _favorite_ nerd?"

I change the topic. "Look who's red now."

She grins. "You avoided the question."

"Hey, did you bring anything else up to do here?" I ask.

"Answer the question, Lazuli."

"Don't push your luck, Evergreen."

"I'm just going to assume I'm your favorite nerd now."

"Hey! I have a great idea! I'll draw you!" I exclaim, carefully navigating around the subject. I grab a green colored pencil from the box, and she falls silent, though she shoots me a knowing glance.

I place the pad of paper on the knee Peridot isn't resting on, and begin to draw. I start with the forms, but when I get to the face, it gets much more difficult.

"Peridot, if you keep changing your facial expression every time I look, you're going to look ridiculous," I remark, erasing her eyes for the fifth time.

"I already look ridiculous. Besides, you're pretty cute when you draw. I want to see that," she explains, scrunching her face up so I have to redraw it yet again.

"You know what? I'm not redrawing it now. Your face is literally a mess," I say with fake exasperation.

She sits up to look, and she snickers. "Wow. That's pretty sexy. I'm hanging this up in our room forever."

"Okay, but please do not."

"Why? Afraid it'll turn you on every time you walk in the room?"

I lightly shove her away by her face, and she lands easily on the blanket, and begins howling with laughter. "Your face was priceless!"

I point at my drawing. "I am not getting turned on at night by a drawing of you. I'm not turned on by paper in general!"

She snorts. "I never thought you'd ever have to say that sentence, Lazuli."

"Neither did I." I agree.

We're silent for a moment. "Hey, you should lie down. The stars are really pretty tonight," Peridot murmurs.

I lie down next to her, my heart thumping. She smiles at me, and I feel electricity racing through my nerves.

She points to the sky. "I used to look at the stars at night when I was younger. See that constellation there?" she waits for me to nod, and when I do, she says, "That one's called Ursa Major. It's in the shape of a bear." She traces the shape of the constellation with her fingers.

"My favorite was always Orion," I murmur, pointing at the x shaped pattern. "He was the easiest to find, right after the big dipper."

"Oh, the big dipper's over here," she says, gesturing to the familiar shape.

I quickly point to another spot in the sky. "Hey, look! It's a comet!" Her face lights up when she sees it. "Make a wish," I murmur.

 _I wish that Peridot loves me,_ I tell myself. Even though she can't see it, I smile at her.

She turns to me. "What'd you wish for?" she murmurs.

"If I tell you, it won't come true," I reply.

She turns back to the sky. "Mine was about you. I'd tell you more, but I'm really banking on this wish."

I blush in the moonlight. She seems so at ease out here, so free. It's beautiful.

"Hey, Lapis?" she murmurs.

"Yeah?" I reply, turning to look at her. Our faces were only a few inches apart, and my heart was pounding in my chest.

"You know, your eyes look like the night sky in this light. Midnight blue, and reflecting the light of thousands of stars. They're beautiful, just like the rest of you." A pause. "I think you're really great, and these past few months have been the best of my life. I… I love you… So… will you be my girlfriend?"

I gasp in surprise, but my face lights up.

She winces. "You don't have to say yes, but-"

"Of course I'll say yes!" I roll over to hug her, and she relaxes. "I love you too, Peri."

She smiles. "Oh, wait!" she sits up. "I almost forgot; I bought you a necklace in case you said yes."

She pulls out a small case and hands it to me. I take it and gently open it. Inside rests a necklace with a silver chain and a small tear shaped pendant, which was the most gorgeous shade of blue I've ever seen, covered in gold specks.

"It's made of Lapis Lazuli, the stone. I have a matching one made of Peridot," she says, pulling out a similar case.

In the time it takes for me to put mine on, she takes hers out of its case. The charm is a dazzling neon green, cut in a triangle shape. She lifts her hair up to put it on, but I say, "Allow me," and take it from her hands. I gently fasten it around her neck, meeting her eyes as I did.

When we're done, I lay back down, and she goes besides me, putting her arms around my back. She puts her chin on top of my head, and I smile.

"I love you, Evergreen."

"Love you too, Rain."

We fall asleep together under the star-speckled night sky.


	14. Underwater

**That last one was probably my favorite chapter to write as of yet. Thanks for the support, though. Honestly, idk what I'm doing and I just have to hope I don't screw it up each time I write.**

Peridot:

Oh my stars.

I asked out my best friend.

And she said yes.

…And cue the internal screaming.

Because seriously?

 _She likes me back._

I'd been planning this for a while now, honestly.

But it had worked so well. Better than expected.

Even thinking about it now makes me grin like an idiot.

 _I had a girlfriend_

Whatever. Back to the present.

"Peridot? You awake?" Lapis murmurs.

Of course I was. I'd been awake for an hour now, but I'd wanted to stay with her.

"Yeah," I reply softly.

"Thought you might want to see the sunrise," Lapis explains.

I sit up. "Woah," I say softly.

The sunrise was a rose pink color, fading into a light orange where it touched the ground. The crescent moon still hung around at the top of the sky, too shy to meet the brilliant sun.

I lean against Lapis' shoulder. "Almost as pretty as you," I mumble.

She smiles. "Are you going to say stuff like that all the time now?"

"Okay, I've always been thinking it, but I just kept it to myself so I didn't scare you," I confess.

"Yeah, but how are you so sweet? I've got to say something super cute to you now, but I suck at flirting," she admits.

"Just be smooth," I advise.

"Okay, I'll try." She pauses. "You're a lot prettier than that picture I drew of you last night," she tries. She immediately looks as if she knows how lame what she just said was, but is too uncomfortable to mention it.

"I'm not sure that's possible. That drawing was super sexy," I respond.

"Damn it, Peridot, I'm trying flirt with you. You could at least try to cooperate," she growls playfully.

I bat my eyelashes. "Oh wow, Lazuli! I'm prettier than a rough sketch done in five minutes? I feel so unworthy of such a compliment!"

She pushes me over lightly. "Never mind. I take back what I said last night about wanting you to be more sarcastic. That's over. It's done. Finished."

I grin. "Come on, Lazuli. You know you enjoy my sarcasm."

"I wouldn't bet on that." She stands up and stretches. "I should probably go and swim or something. Got to train for the next competition. You want to come with?"

"Maybe in a little while," I replied, understanding that this was Lapis' way of asking for alone time. I could relate. My thoughts were still racing. And besides, I wasn't going to get all clingy just because we were dating.

She smiles. "How long have you been waiting to ask me out, by the way?"

I twiddle my thumbs. "Um, a while, I guess. I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable with what we had first."

"Yeah, you're polite like that," she comments.

I pause. "Is this going to change anything? Like, how we act around each other?"

She smiles and cocks her head to one side. "Won't it? We literally just cuddled last night." She rubs her shoulder. "Things are different, but we can go as slowly as you want, okay?"

I shrug. "I… I guess."

She waves to me and climbs back down the ladder. I sigh and begin to pick up after our picnic.

 _Will everything change now? Did I do the right thing?_

oO0Oo

Honestly though, I'm just glad Lapis likes girls, though finding out was mildly embarrassing. We were watching Camp Pining Hearts on my laptop…

"Is that Paulette?" Lapis asks, having never seen the show a lot. "You talk about her a lot."

"Yeah, she's my second favorite character after Percy," I answer. "He's the backbone of my OTP."

"Paulette is kind of cute," Lapis casually remarks.

"Oh…" I pause. "You like girls?"

"And boys," Lapis adds. "What about you?"

I felt my face flush.

 _Oh my stars, she likes girls! I actually have a chance with her! I can't believe it!_

"Sorry if it's a personal question," she quickly says, noticing my hesitation.

"I like girls," I state.

She turns away for a second, then looks back at the screen. "Nice."

oO0Oo

After cleaning up our picnic, I decide to change into my swimsuit and head down to the pool. I find her there, alone, swimming like no one was watching, which was true until I came.

I leaned against the wall of the doorway, folding my arms and folding on leg over the other. "Nice form," I call.

She jumps, and looks up from the water. "You scared me," she calls, swimming over to my side of the pool.

I walk over and sit down on the edge, letting my legs soak in the water. "My bad."

She folds her arms and places then on the edge of the pool next to me. "It's good. You feel up for a swim today?"

"Yeah. This time, I actually brought a bathing suit to wear," I say, pulling off my hoodie to reveal a lime green one-piece.

"Woah there, Peridot. Isn't it a little too early to be taking off your shirt in front of me?" Lapis teases.

I take in a deep breath and lay down on my back. "I just… can't with you sometimes…" I mutter, putting my hand on my forehead.

I hear her laugh. "That's okay, I can't either. Now, are you actually getting in, or just modelling a bathing suit?"

"I'm getting in," I answer. "I've just got to take off my shorts first." As she opens her mouth to reply, I quickly say, "And no jokes about taking off my pants, or I swear to the stars, I'll... put them back on?"

Her eyes widen in mock shock. "Anything but that," she replies.

"And you say _I_ shouldn't be sarcastic," I mutter good-naturedly. "When it's really the other way around."

"Hey, I'm the sarcastic one, and you're the smooth one. It's our dynamic," she explains.

"I think you got the better end of the deal," I mutter. "You don't have to listen to someone being extremely dumb, like, all the time."

She sticks her tongue out. "Just get in the pool."

I slowly slide into the cold water. "It's freezing in here!" I exclaim.

"What'd you expect?" she asks, splashing me.

"A nice swim. Are you part penguin? How do you even stand this cold water? It's like the arctic!" I reply.

"It's called not being overly heat sensitive. Might want to look that up," she answers.

I roll my eyes and push her shoulder. "Or it's called being a normal human," I tease, splashing her back.

"You done complaining about literally everything?" she asks playfully.

"I could complain about more," I counter. "Like how my girlfriend couldn't cook to save her life, or-"

"I can cook!" she replies indignantly.

"Mhm," I respond.

She lightly shoves my arm. "I can make a sandwich! That's got to count!"

"The only sandwich I've ever seen you eat was a Nutella and peanut butter sandwich on a bagel," I counter.

"Still counts," she argues.

I sigh. "Lazuli, please never cook again."

She grins. "You're just jealous of my awesome cooking skills."

"You call that skill?" I ask, feigning confusion.

She opens her mouth to reply, but before she can answer, the door to the pool area opens.

"Hey, losers," Amethyst calls casually.

"That's no way to greet them!" Pearl exclaims. "You can't just walk up to someone and insult them!"

"I kinda just did," Amethyst says, shrugging. "Not that it matters much though, I'm pretty sure they don't care."

"True," Lapis replies.

Pearl grumbles, but doesn't press the matter.

"Why are you guys even here?" I ask. "I thought everyone left for vacation."

"Pearl's staying here for the sick dancing program, and I'm not welcome at home," Amethyst explains.

"Oh, cool," I remark.

"So, why are you here at the pool?" Lapis asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I got bored," Amethyst says, shrugging.

Lapis narrows her eyes, but doesn't say anything.

"We're here to swim, too," Pearl says cheerfully.

They walk off to the changing room, and I whisper, "Are we going to tell them about… us?"

"I'm pretty sure they know we exist, no need to alarm them."

"You know what I meant, Lazuli."

"…Not yet," she murmurs after a moment of thought.

"Why do you think they really came?" I question.

"…I'm not sure. I sometimes think Amethyst has a thing for you, but I honestly think she's just using you as a substitute to Pearl, or to make her jealous, which I hate. No one should ever be _used_ like that," Lapis spits.

"What should we do?" I ask.

"Friend zone her into next month," Lapis mutters.

I grab her hand underwater.

"You know that I'd never look at anyone other than you, right? You're the only girl I want," I murmur.

She smiles softly. "Thanks, Peridot. You know, I-"

Amethyst comes racing back in. "Cannonball!" she yells, jumping into the pool.

Pearl comes walking in after her. "Amethyst, don't run by the pool," she calls.

Amethyst rolls her eyes. "C'mon Pearl, I haven't heard you give this many warnings since I tried to climb that tree blindfolded. It's only a little water."

"Um… Why were you climbing a tree blindfolded?" I ask, as I was very concerned.

Lapis and Amethyst both laugh. "I dared her to," Lapis explained.

Amethyst pumps her fist. "And I made five bucks off it, too! Man, we haven't played truth or dare in forever! We should do that again some time."

Pearl merely rolls her eyes and climbs down the metal ladder into the pool. "Let's not forget the part where you made Ruby lick a shoe, and she got sick for a week."

"Why did you make her lick a shoe!?" I ask, now greatly concerned.

"We were out of ideas," Amethyst admits. "It was hilarious, though."

I face palm. "You're all idiots."

Lapis rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I've noticed. Anyways, what do you want to do?"

"Well, it can't have anything to do with racing, because Lapis can and will beat us all," Amethyst notes.

Lapis shrugs. "What can I say? Swimming's the one thing I'm good at."

"You're good at other things!" I exclaim. "Just not cooking."

She splashes me. "You've insulted my cooking three times today. Fight me," she teases.

Amethyst's eyes light up. "What about a chicken fight?"

Lapis grins. "Oh, definitely. We're going to beat you and Pearl into the ground."

"Maybe aim for the water instead," Amethyst replies.

Lapis rolls her eyes and turns to me. "You ready?"

I nod and smile. "I'll fight first."

She gets down in the water, and I climb onto her shoulders. As she stands up, I lean backwards, and we both fall back into the pool. I look at Lapis underwater, and… woah. It looks like she has blue mermaid hair, and her eyes sparkle like diamonds. She looks into my eyes, and my heart nearly beats out of my chest. She smiles and rises to the surface, and I follow.

"You do realize you're supposed to wait for us to knock you off before you fall, right?" Amethyst asks from atop Pearl's shoulders.

I blush. "I've never done this before," I admit, "Do you want to get on my shoulders this time?"

She glances at Amethyst and Pearl. If she's on my shoulders, I won't have to face against Amethyst.

"Sure," she says, shrugging, though I catch an appreciative look in her eyes.

This time, I crouch down in the water, and she carefully climbs on my shoulders. I stand up, and she manages to hang on. I look up at her, and see her looking down, smiling at me. It make me glow with happiness.

I slowly walk forwards towards Pearl and Amethyst, and Lapis and Amethyst start pushing each other.

"Nice try, Lapis, but you're going to have to do better than that!" Amethyst calls.

My blue haired friend puts two hands on Amethyst's shoulders, and shoves her to the side, effectively knocking both Pearl and Amethyst into the water. While she's going down, Pearl gives an indignant squawk that causes both Lazuli and I to burst out into laughter.

I notice Amethyst's hand come out from the water, grab Lapis' leg, and pull it forward, causing us to fall backward. We hit the water with a loud splash. As I look at her underwater, I catch Lapis staring at me. I smile, and she begins to laugh, causing sparkling bubbles to rise to the surface. I offer her a hand up, and she takes it, causing a spark to run from my fingertips to my chest.

 _Is this what it's like to be in love?_

I pull us to the surface just before I run out of breath.

She rubs the back of her neck, avoiding my eyes.

Amethyst glances between the two of us, smirking. I immediately blush.

"Is there a problem, Amethyst?" I ask.

"No, no. I wouldn't call it a problem," she replies.

"Then what would you call it?" I demand.

"I'd say it's love."

Both Lapis and I turn bright red. Amethyst howls with laughter.

"It's true, isn't it? You two love each other!" she exclaims.

I glance at Pearl and mouth the words, "Help us out here."

She merely shakes her head. "From what I've seen, she isn't wrong. You two do look like you're in love."

I begin to walk backwards. "Hey, Lapis, do you want to go back to our dorm? I don't think you've been there since yesterday, and that's a long time, I guess."

"Oooh! Where were you last night, Lapis?" Amethyst asks.

Lapis rubs her arm. "Yeah, let's go, Peridot."

She gently lifts herself out of the pool, water cascading off her form and onto the cement. I stare open mouthed, but only for a moment, as I knew Amethyst would be watching.

I try to kick my way out of the pool, but as I had no arm strength, it worked about as well as acne cream. Lapis walked over to me and offered me a hand up. I took it, breathing in her sweet scent. She smiled softly at me.

We walked out of the door together, not even bothering to change clothes.

Lapis exhales loudly. "Amethyst might be my friend, but honestly, she really knows how to piss me off."

"Tell me about it," I agreed, "I just… can't with her sometimes."

"It was worse before you came," Lapis replied. She takes my hand, softly at first, but giving my hand a reassuring squeeze after she knows I'm comfortable. "I really love how you're here this year, Peridot," she adds in a voice that makes my heart flutter.

I only blush. "I like being here… with you…" I stutter.

She grins, but doesn't reply.

oO0Oo

Once we're back at the dorm, I begin to change my clothes, and I say,

"I think I'll stay at this school until senior year," I announce.

Lapis smiles widely. "Really?"

"Yeah. I've never been at a school for more than one year, but I want to stay this time," I add.

She grins, and pulls me into a hug. I feel her hair brush against my cheek, and I grin.

"What the hell, Lapis, why are you so soft?" I murmur.

She laughs, and the sound of it makes my heart race. I sigh and let myself relax in her arms.

"Your heart's beating pretty fast, Peri," she comments, "Does this make you uncomfortable?"

"No, I'm just thinking," I explain.

"About what?"

"What Pearl said," I answered, "When she told us we loved each other."

"What about it?" Lapis asks nervously.

"I think she was right," I admit.

"She'd better be, or I'm going back to the pool to punch her in her lying face, because I'm sure as hell not dating someone who doesn't care about me."

I laugh loudly. "Don't worry, I'd help you punch her in a heartbeat."

"Nice to know you'll always help me beat up the fake ones," Lapis adds.

I grin and stare into her eyes. Somehow, her ice blue irises didn't seem so cold anymore. "Always," I promise.


	15. Much Better Than Northern Lights

**Okay I literally needed to describe walking in the rain without an umbrella or rain jacket for this story so I went for a mile long walk in flip flops in a thunderstorm and my neighbors are so concerned about my sanity now like a guy driving rolled down his windows and asked "a tree down the street got hit by lightning… and you're walking at a leisurely pace? Excuse me for asking, but why? Are you okay?" And I had to explain that I'm a writer without telling him what I write because haha that would be a nightmare.**

Lapis:

"So, I'm guessing that now isn't exactly the best time to wake you two lovebirds up?"

I slowly blink my eyes open to see Amethyst, her hair dripping on our carpeting, standing over my bed.

"Amethyst? What the hell?" I exclaim, pulling my covers closer to my face.

"Lapis? Why are you screaming? Should I be screaming too?" Peridot mutters, turning over.

"We have an uninvited guest," I answer, glaring at Amethyst, who is trying hard not to laugh.

Peridot quickly sits up, and upon seeing Amethyst, blushes deeply and tears her hand away from mine under the covers, causing Amethyst to snicker.

"Why are you even here at-" Peridot checks her watch. "One in the morning?"

"There are some northern lights tonight. Thought you might want to see," Amethyst replies.

"Okay, but you could've at least knocked. I'm only wearing a bra and boxers," I grumble.

Amethyst wiggles her eyebrows. "Ooh, did you two do it last night?"

I blush. "Screw you, and no, it's just really hot in here." I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Whatever. We'll be out in a few minutes."

Once the purple haired-girl leaves, I jump out of bed and grab the first shirt I can find – which happens to be a blue oversized swim team tee shirt.

Peridot slowly gets out of bed. "She does know that we're too far south for northern lights, right? What is she trying to pull?"

"Let's just go and find out," I mutter darkly.

We head out of the room to find Amethyst cackling with laughter. "Y'all believed me when I said there were northern lights! I just wanted to see if you dudes slept together, and I was right! Ha!"

"Wow, you're just… so funny, Amethyst," I mutter, rubbing my temples. "I can't stop laughing..."

"Let's get out of here, Lapis," Peridot adds, glancing at the purple-haired girl.

"Want to go swim?" I ask softly so Amethyst won't hear.

"Definitely," Peridot answers, walking out of the door. "Later, Amethyst."

The purple haired girl stared in shock as her friends left without her yet again.

oO0Oo

"You know, I think I'm finally used to swimming with my clothes on," Peridot remarks as she slips into the glowing blue water.

"That's good, because this is something that's not stopping. Night swims are way too much fun."

I dive into the water like a dolphin and pop up less than a foot away from her face. I grin when I see the expression on her face – a look of mingled surprise and humor.

She rolls her eyes. "You see that sign, Lazuli? The one on the side of the pool that _specifically says not to dive?_ I'm pretty sure you literally did just that."

I grin. "It's called, 'I physically could not care less about a sign when I know perfectly well that I can dive without getting hurt, plus I just like rebelling,' Peridot."

"Oh, man. Tone it down there, Lazuli," she jokes.

"Let's tone it the hell up," I reply, smirking.

"…Or we could just go in the deep end and act like normal people," Peridot says in a slow voice.

I shrug and grin. "Whatever works, my dude."

She swims over slowly and looks down at her feet, at her blue anklet we'd gotten so long ago, before things got complicated and simplified and back again, when the storm raging in my chest was nothing but a rain cloud. "I think you've actually taught me a thing or two about swimming this year, Lazuli."

"Consider it payback for that one time you gave me an archery lesson," I reply coolly. "But really, the only thing I remember is how close you were. I swear my heart still hasn't recovered."

"Maybe that's because I'm just so damn cute," Peridot corrects, placing a hand over her heart and batting her eyelashes.

"Holy shit, you're right. Stop being so cute."

"Never."

"Aw."

She snickers. "You sound so disappointed."

"I'm heartbroken, Peridot. Can't you tell? It's all in the tone of my voice."

She splashes me. "You sound about as sentimental as a robot right now."

"Robots can't swim," I counter. "And last time I checked," I added, glancing down at the water beneath my feet. "I'm pretty sure I can swim.

"Then I'll be the one to invent a swimming robot just to prove you wrong," Peridot says.

"A swimming robot won't call you a nerd like I will," I add.

"Why would I want that?"

"Because it'd be awesome, you nerd," I tease.

She sighs, but I still notice her smile, the smile I fell in love with, as well as the girl it belonged to.

"Whatever. I think that nerd is a compliment, not an – oh my stars!" she exclaims, her hand going to her neck. "I don't have my necklace!" she begins to look around frantically.

"I turn my head to the floor of the pool, instead of to the walls like Peri was doing. I squinted my eyes.

"It's just down there," I commented, pointing at a gold and green speck on the pool floor. "I can dive down and get it, if you'd like."

She shook her head. "No. I want to get it myself. I've got this," she says, kicking herself down into the water.

"Wait!" I cry, "That's not how you – oh, never mind. You'll figure it out soon enough."

Peridot resurfaces a few seconds later, empty handed. Her beautiful blonde hair covers her eyes, causing her to shake her head like a dog.

"How are you supposed to go down so far?" she asks indignantly.

"Try diving in from the side of the pool," I suggest.

She clumsily pulls herself out of the pool, takes a few steps back, and runs into a dive, going over my head in a perfect arc. I turn away as she splashes into the water, watching intently as she paddles her way down. But halfway to the floor, I notice bubbles rising to the surface, and I see her panicked face turn to the surface. I grab the side of the pool with my hands and dip my foot down as low as I can. Thankfully, she understands, and she grabs my leg, pulling herself back up.

"I… can't make it…" she splutters. She turns her celery green eyes to me, and I feel my heart rate speed up far past what you'd refer to as a healthy tempo. "Please, tell me how."

I hesitate. "Just try to get down as quickly as you can. Getting back up is easy."

She rubs her shoulder. "I need more advice than that. This necklace… it means a lot to me. I have to get it."

She tries once more unsuccessfully, and turns to me again.

"Ugh! Why can't I do this?" she angrily yells.

"It just takes practice," I reply calmly, "You're doing great."

"I just – I want to show you that I can do things too… That I'm just as good as you are," she mutters, looking down at the necklace.

I take her hand, and I hear a tiny gasp. "Peridot, you are just as good as me. You're better, even. You know I think you're amazing. You don't need to prove yourself, but I get it if you still want to." I pause. "If it helps, I can dive down with you."

She nods, and I pull myself out of the pool, dripping water on the dry concrete. I turn around and offer her a hand up. She's staring at me a moment too long for it to be an accident. She blinks once, shakes her head, and takes my hand. I pull her up, but I'm too strong, and she lands a bit too close. I feel her breath on my skin, her hand on mine. She backs away after a few moments, and I know her piercing green eyes were searching mine for something, anything that would let her know how I felt.

I turn to her, and she nods, diving into the glowing water. I follow suit, and let momentum carry me until I get close, where I begin to paddle. I look to my left, and find her with necklace in hand, excitement brimming in her eyes.

I grin and take her hand. She kicks in my direction, and she gets too close, or maybe just close enough. Her eyes are so near mine that I can see specks of gold in her pale green irises that I never knew existed.

 _I want to see those gold flecks again,_ was the last thing I was able to think before her lips touched mine.

It was like someone lit a fire inside my heart, warm, flickering, full of energy. I could feel a jolt run down my spine, making me shiver. After seeing her lips day after day for months, I thought I'd known all their secrets. But I never could've guessed that they were this warm and soft, or the way they fit against mine like puzzle pieces. It was reassuring, comforting, and exciting all at the same time.

We moved just slightly apart after what seemed like an eternity. Our eyes met, and I saw something in her celery green irises that I'd never known was there before. She gave me a weak smile, and I returned it, bubbles rising from my mouth. I didn't think breathing would be on my to-do list again.

Peridot took my hand and kicked off from the pool floor, sending us to the surface. When I reached the fresh air, I took in as much as I could, floating on my back with my hand on my chest.

Peridot kicked off the wall and floated next to me.

"Wow," she murmurs.

"Wow," I affirm.

"Hey, Lapis?" she asks, her head bumping against mine in the water. "I love you."

I smile widely. "I love you too."


	16. Understanding

**Thanks for the support it's really heartwarming and motivational. I wrote this at 4am and I'm pretty sure I wrote "the stars shone as bright as stars" at some point and that is a phrase that every literary masterpiece needs. I've also started writing a backstory chapter, and it's 5k words and not even half done omg.**

 **Also this story will go on a two week hiatus starting Saturday, as I'll be without a computer / wifi. Sorry.**

Peridot:

I wake up on the side of the pool with Lapis curled beside me, my arm wrapped around her shoulder, her head on my chest.

If that wasn't weird enough, there was a towel loosely draped over us like a blanket.

 _We didn't fall asleep like this!_

Lapis begins to slowly stir, and I pull the white towel higher. She slowly blinkers her eyes open, bathing in the early morning light.

"Hey," the beautiful blue haired girl murmurs, slowly sitting up.

"Morning," I reply. "What's up with this towel?"

"Oh, I woke up in the middle of the night and you looked cold, so I broke into the locker room to get one," Lapis answers.

"Thanks," I respond, "That's really sweet."

A silence falls in the room. I nervously glance at Lapis. She's staring out of the window, tapping her fingers on her leg.

"Last night-" I start.

"Was it-" She begins.

We look at each other nervously and laugh quietly.

I take a deep breath. "Last night… when we kissed… did you like it?"

She laughs. "Of course, Peri. I love you. You don't ever need to doubt that."

I rest my head on her shoulder. "I know I shouldn't… What were you going to ask?"

"Was that your first kiss?"

The question takes me by surprise. "Yes," I answer stiffly.

Lapis rubs my arm reassuringly, and I relax. "It was mine too," she adds.

I look up at her in surprise. "Really? A girl like you? I'd have thought you would've had both girls and guys lined up through the back door for you."

She shrugs. "Some people liked me. I just never found anyone I liked back." She plants a kiss on my forehead, and my face turns cherry red. Her kissing me casually was a huge bonus, even if it did make my head spin and heart pound. "You were the exception. You're special."

All I can manage is an "Oh," and Lapis grins.

"Never seen you speechless before," she comments.

"Just thinking. What makes me special?" I ask quietly.

"You didn't judge me, for starters. But after I got to know you, I saw that you were kind, caring, loving, awkward, nervous, easily excitable, a nerd, beautiful, and oh my stars, Peri, you mean the world to me," she lists, staring into my eyes, her ice blue irises appearing almost white in the morning light, looking just like freshly fallen snow.

"You are my world," I murmur, hugging her tightly.

oO0Oo

Later that day, we were walking down the sidewalk back to the dorms, when Lapis grabs my hand and pulls me off the trail.

"What are you doing?" I ask, glancing at the main building. "Isn't the _clearly marked_ path leading that way?"

"Fuck the path."

"Wouldn't that be cheating on you?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Not if I did it too," she replies, winking.

"What, is the path going to stay at our place for a night?"

"Nah, you're the only roommate I need," Lapis adds.

A shiver runs down my spine. _When did she get so smooth?_ _Did I miss something over the span of two days?_

"But wait, where are we actually going?" I ask, confused.

"Over break I made a little hide out in the forest out here. I brought a few books and some blankets. Might even have a soda or two if I didn't drink them already."

"That's actually… incredibly cool," I remark, "So we're just going to hang out in the woods in the middle of winter? Without jackets or anything?"

"Would you rather go back to the dorm with Amethyst and Pearl?" she questions, raising an eyebrow.

I sigh. "Yeah, you're right. They were such… ugh! I can't with Amethyst right now."

"At least one good thing came out of it," Lapis muses.

"More than one thing," I note, "The kiss and sleeping by the pool with you."

"Would you count hanging out in a forest that would make aesthetic blogger jealous in that category?" Lapis asks, gesturing at the small clearing they'd reached. Unlike the rest of the woods, this end was surrounded by a small batch of evergreen trees.

"Is this a pun?" I mutter, covering my eyes with my hand, her chest shaking from repressed laughter. "Evergreen trees? My nickname?"

"Okay, well," Lapis starts, attempting to hide her smile. "If I said yes, would you be mad?"

My laughter got louder. "I can't… with you…" I murmured, giving Lapis a light kiss on the cheek.

Lapis looked surprised for a split second, then started grinning. _Oh my stars, I made her happy, this is the highlight of my day._

"Yeah, well, I know you liked to read, so I brought some books out here."

I whip my head around. "Where?"

"They're stored in a plastic bag under that pile of leaves," Lapis answers.

I gleefully pull Lapis over by her hand. "I've never read this one before," I comment, brushing the leaves off one of the books.

"It's one of mine. My favorite, actually. I thought that you could read one of mine, and I could read one of yours."

"That's so sweet." She paused. "Is this a date?"

Lapis merely winks at her.

We both pick up our books and choose a nice spruce tree to sit under.

I open the cover of my book and flip to the first page, the paper crinkling under my fingertips.

I glance over at Lapis. She's already on the third page, her crystal eyes scanning each word. I grin as her nose scrunches up in concentration. Cutie.

 _Peridot, read your book,_ I tell myself.

Why don't I ever listen?

I looked to Lapis again. Her ruffled blue hair was blowing in the gentle breeze, moving back and forth across her freckled face. Her roots were growing in again, chocolate brown standing out against azure blue. She subconsciously tucked a loose strand behind her ear, where it immediately escaped again. I bit my lip.

"How's your book?" she asks.

"Hm?" I murmur.

"I said, how's your book so far?"

"Gorgeous."

"Wow, Peri, I didn't know your sexuality included books," she replies, smirking as she glances up from her book.

I snap out of my stupor. "I wasn't talking about the book."

"Then who were you…" Realization hits. "Me? Aw, Peri…"

I rest my head on her shoulder. "Yeah, you dork."

She smiles, creases forming around her eyes. As she goes back to her book, I try to return to mine as well.

 _Don't think about her pearly white smile,_ The voice in my head says, _Or her wintery eyes._

I glance over at her again. Her eyes were as pale as snow, reflecting the color of the paper. They ran back and forth, scanning each page intently.

"How much have you actually read?" she asks without looking up, her crystal clear eyes only darting to mine for a moment.

"Does the table of contents count?"

"Sure."

"None," I answer, rubbing the back of my neck.

"You'd have thought that a writer would love to read," she comments, flipping a page.

"I love you more," I answer, nuzzling her shoulder affectionately.

I notice her turn ruby red, and I smile softly. We meet eyes, and hers are filled with affection.

"You're so sweet," she murmurs.

"Mhm…" I softly affirm, breathing in her sweet scent.

"Yeah, love you too," she replies drowsily.

I look up at her head. Her eyes are closed and her breathing has slowed. She fell asleep that quickly.

I smile and let her head fall into my lap so she can lay down. I lean back against the tree for support. I let the chirps of the birds and rustling of the leaves in the wind lull me into sleep.

oO0Oo

"Peridot?"

I look down at my lap to see Lapis smiling up at me.

"Oh, hey," I say casually.

"You're looking the wrong way," Lapis murmurs, glancing up.

I follow her gaze, and look at the most beautiful night sky I've ever seen.

"Oh," I state simply in a hushed voice.

The stars stand out against the midnight sky like pimples on my face. The crescent moon was like a claw, slicing through the sky and stars alike.

I glance down again, but Lapis is already sitting up again.

"Sorry I fell asleep earlier," she mutters.

"You were tired," I answer, reaching for her hand but only coming up with empty air. "I fell asleep too."

"I didn't sleep at all last night," she states tonelessly. "At least not after the first half hour."

"Why?" I ask, confused. "Were you thinking about the kiss?"

She shrugs. "Among other things."

"Such as?"

"…Do I deserve you?"

"What?" I ask, startled.

"You heard me," she says aggressively.

"And I don't like what I heard! Don't think like that!" I exclaim.

"I'll think however I want!" she exclaims. A pause. "I just… You're so perfect, always complimenting me, always knowing what to say. And then there's me. The world's biggest failure. I can't do anything."

"That's not true!" I yell.

She curls into a ball and puts her head on her knees. "You still don't know everything about me. I've done so many bad things…" she trails off.

I hug her. "You've done so many good things, too."

She sighs. "Do you want proof?"

I don't know how to answer, and she continues. "I have a scar on my back," she starts, taking her shirt off. I immediately turn bright red.

"Uh, Lapis?"

She ignored me. Once her shirt is off, exposing her bra and back, I can make out a thick, long scar going from her left shoulder to the bottom of her right shoulder blade.

"You see that? That's not something you'd get from tripping and falling. I got it from something far worse. Another person." Lapis mutters darkly. "I pushed her to the edge, back when I was still friends with Jasper."

"You were friends with Jasper?" I exclaim, my eyes widening.

She gives a harsh laugh, one that belongs to anyone but her. "We were best friends. But she didn't turn rouge, I became nicer. I wasn't always like this; I was a bully."

I hug her again, my face against her back. I gently kiss her scar, causing her to shiver.

"I love all of you, Lapis. That includes your scar. You're good now, I know it."

She doesn't answer.

I sigh. "Lapis Lazuli, if this was a TV show, you'd be my favorite character, and my favorites are never the villains."

I hear a sniffle followed by a subdued laugh, and then a weak, "Dork."

I laugh, tears coming to my eyes. "Yeah, I am a dork," I say, putting my ankle against hers, our nylon anklets touching. "And I love you for who you are."

She slowly uncurls. "Damn it, Peridot, I love you." She pauses. "How do we always end up like this, under the stars?"

I grin. "Space is my aesthetic."

She leans in closer, her face inches from mine. I gulp. "You're my aesthetic," she murmurs, kissing me.

I'd like to say I had any functional thoughts, but mostly, I was just surprised. Surprised that she'd made the first move, that she'd opened up so easily, that her lips were so soft and her skin so warm, that she smelled more like the forest, more like _me_ than the ocean, as she so normally did.

It was shorter than their last kiss, and Lapis pulled away rather quickly.

"I'd say you're pretty damn smooth yourself, I mumbled.

"Aw, thanks. You're the one who I'm trying to imitate," she replies, leaning against my shoulder.

I smile. "I really do love you, you know?"

She grins. "I know. And I love you back, more than ever."

oO0Oo

After falling asleep and waking up together for the second night in a row, they'd decided to head back to their dorm, where they had nice things like toothpaste and hair brushes.

Hand in hand we walked down the hallway, smiling happily. But suddenly Lapis is violently jerked away from me, her hand torn from my grasp.

I angrily whipped around. Who would have the _audacity_ to keep us apart?

But of course I already knew the answer. Who else would it be?

It was Jasper.


	17. Could You Not?

**Had to re-write this chapter… first draft was 2.6k words and not finished… Also hey I kinda lowkey forgot to mention this earlier, but Lapis isn't white. (I wanted her to not be either Filipino or Hawaiian from the beginning but I didn't know how to describe skin shades so I was looking for reference pages and just kinda forgot to update it) (But I mean I guess she has to have some European descent on both sides because of her blue eyes but if she didn't have those I'd write her in as fully one race)  
Other people: I have a great writing schedule!  
Me: I hAVe A GReaT wrITInG SCHeDuLE!**

Lapis:

Of course, just when everything _finally_ turns out well, something ruins it.

Sometimes it's me, but this time, it's Jasper. Great.

She grabs my wrist roughly, tearing my hand away from Peridot's.

"Augh!" I exclaim, whipping around to face the brutish girl. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"What the hell was that?" Jasper yells, pointing to Peridot's hand.

"Well, you see, that's called a hand," I explain, waving the hand of the wrist currently caught in Jasper's grasp.

She brings me within an inch of her face, and my eyes widen.

"Don't get smart with me, Lazuli!" She grins. "You never were very smart. You loved to fight. What happened to that?"

I glare at her. "I became someone better."

She slams me against a row of lockers, and I hear Peridot's cry of fear.

"Wrong answer. Now, tell me, why were you holding hands with this little punk?"

"Because we're dating," I answer simply.

The look on Jasper's face would be funny if it wasn't directed at me. Her eyes, her beautiful amber eyes that I liken to fire, widen, glaring down at me. But when fire and ice meet, ice melts.

"You… You're dating her? How dare you?" Jasper exclaims. "You know I want you, Laz!"

I shudder at her words. If I were hers…

She drops me on the ground. I wonder why, until I see her foot come down. I roll onto my side just in time, and her foot comes down on empty air.

"Lapis! Get out of there!" Peridot calls.

I start to scramble up, but her foot catches me in the shoulder, and my chin is slammed back into the floor.

"It's supposed to be just you and me, Lazuli. What happened to that?" Jasper asks, genuine hurt in her voice.

I flinch, but don't answer. She lets her foot rest on my back, pinning me down with increasing pressure.

"Hey, Jasper! Get off my girlfriend!" Peridot yells, charging the brutish girl.

Just as soon as she's in range, Jasper slaps the girl so hard, the sound can be heard all the way down the hallway.

"Peridot!" I exclaim, spinning onto my side out of Jasper's grasp, running over to my girlfriend.

Just before I can reach her, Jasper grabs the hood of my hoodie, yanking me back into her grasp. I gasp, but Jasper pays no attention.

"Now, twerp, if you want Lapis to be okay, then you'll do exactly as I say," Jasper growls.

Peridot shakily stands up, giving Jasper her best death glare.

"Peridot, run!" I yell. Jasper quickly clamps her hand over my mouth, her fingers gently rubbing over my lips. I resist the urge to scream.

"What do you even want with her?" Peridot asks harshly.

"I want her to love me," Jasper murmurs, "And if she won't do it on her own, then I'll make her."

"That's not how love works," Peridot explains gently.

"What do you know?" Jasper demands angrily. "I can do whatever I want! Watch!"

She takes her hand of my mouth, and to my horror, leans in for a kiss. I turn my head away as far as I can, but it's not far enough.

"Peridot!" I exclaim, "Do something!"

She hesitates for a moment, then whispers, "I just… don't want her to hurt you."

I stare at her in horror. She would leave me at Jasper's mercy?

"Please," I plead.

Peridot takes off her shoe to throw at Jasper, but I know she'll never make it in time. I turn my face just before Jasper reaches my lips, causing her to miss and hit my cheek instead.

Inside, I'm screaming.

"Peridot!" I yell.

She throws her converse at Jasper, who merely turns me towards Peridot, causing the shoe to hit me in the nose. I curse silently; what else can I do right now?

"Sorry!" she calls.

"Just get me out of here!" I reply.

Jasper puts her head close to mine. "What did you think, Lapis? Did I interest you?"

I snort. "You interested me… in buying pepper spray. Stay the hell away from me," I yell.

She throws me violently on the ground, and my head hits the floor with a sickening crack. Everything fades to an inky black.

oO0Oo

"Peridot!" I yell, sitting upright as quickly as I could.

I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. I was back in our room, taking up the space on both mattresses. When I'd sat up, I'd knocked three ice packs off my face – one on my lower jaw, nose, and forehead.

"You're awake!" Peridot suddenly pulls me into a hug.

"You're okay," I murmur, closing my eyes. I shook my head and pushed her away. "Wait, what the hell was that?"

"Uh… A hug?" she questions.

"No! When Jasper was… about to kiss me, you didn't do anything until it was too late!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, sorry about hitting you in the nose," she murmurs, kissing me on the bridge of my nose.

I blink slowly, smiling, then regain my original composure. "I trusted you to save me!" I yelled.

She flinched. "I'm sorry. She said she would hurt you if I did anything!"

I gestured to my face, which was sporting multiple shades of blue and purple, standing out against the regular chestnut color of my skin. "She _did_ hurt me!" I shout.

She winces. "I'm sorry. If I could do it again differently, I would," her eyes meet mine, round and full of worry. "I'm just glad you're okay."

I take a deep breath, and take a glance at the hurt look on her face. "I… I'm sorry for yelling. I shouldn't… I just can't…" I trail off. "It was my fault. It wasn't your job to protect me. It was mine."

Her eyes widen. "That's not true."

I sigh. "No, I should've protected you. But the truth is…" I pause, taking another breath. "I… can't fight."

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"I used to fight a lot when I was younger. I even took classes; judo, karate, jiu jitsu; the works. It went on all through middle school; three years of violence. One time, it got bad. I… I almost died. After that, I couldn't fight again without thinking of it. I only fought when I absolutely had to, but each time it got worse, so I just stopped entirely. So when I asked for you to help today, it wasn't because I was scared, it was because I really couldn't get myself out of that," I explain, my voice trembling.

Peridot hugs me from behind, wrapping her arms around my torso. "You almost died? Damn, looks like I owe some doctors a bouquet of flowers for saving my girlfriend," she jokes, trying to comfort me.

I give her a faint smile. "If you're that thankful, you'd better get them red roses, and none of that pink shit."

"I like pink," she protests.

I kiss her on the forehead. "Yeah, I do too, but red is classier."

She smiles. "I'll remember that for our next date."

"Where are you going to buy roses on campus?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Pearl has a secret rose garden in her room," Peridot explains. When she sees my face, she adds, "I'm not joking! She says it's symbolic, whatever that means."

Something clicks. "She loves a girl called Rose… A straight girl…" I murmur. "I guess sometimes love is stronger than anything, huh?" I murmur.

Peridot hugs me closer. "Yeah. It is."

I kiss her on the cheek. "I love you, Peridot. Please, don't leave me."

She nuzzles her face into the crook of my neck. "I'd never dream of it."


End file.
